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Marine viruses are defined by their habitat as viruses that are found in marine environments, that is, in the saltwater of seas or oceans or the brackish water of coastal estuaries. Viruses are small infectious agents that can only replicate inside the living cells of a host organism , because they need the replication machinery of the host to ...
Most marine viruses are bacteriophages, which are harmless to plants and animals, but are essential to the regulation of saltwater and freshwater ecosystems. [14] They infect and destroy bacteria in aquatic microbial communities, and are the most important mechanism of recycling carbon in the marine environment.
Phycodnaviridae is a family of large (100–560 kb) double-stranded DNA viruses that infect marine or freshwater eukaryotic algae. Viruses within this family have a similar morphology, with an icosahedral capsid (polyhedron with 20 faces). As of 2014, there were 33 species in this family, divided among 6 genera.
The name "marnaviridae" is based on its genome type (RNA virus - rnaviridae), together with the prefix "ma" being derived from the Latin word mare (sea).[10]The family was proposed following the discovery of an RNA virus (HaRNAV) that infects H. akashiwo off of the coast of British Columbia, which was the first report of a single-stranded RNA virus capable of causing cell lysis in phytoplankton.
[12] [13] It's considered that viruses can complement a grazers diet if ingested, and the microbe is not infected. [14] General grazing on viruses is widespread throughout the marine environment, with grazing rates as high as 90.3 mL −1 day −1. [12] When both bacteria and viruses are present, viruses can be ingested at rates comparable to ...
Viral shunt was first described in 1999 by Steven W. Wilhelm and Curtis A. Suttle. [6] Their original paper has since been cited over 1000 times. [7] For his contributions to understanding of viral roles in marine ecosystems, Suttle has received numerous awards, including being named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, receiving the A.G. Huntsman Award for Excellence in Marine Science ...
Studies have also suggested that resident bacteria, archaea, and fungi additionally contribute to nutrient and organic matter cycling within the coral, with viruses also possibly playing a role in structuring the composition of these members, thus providing one of the first glimpses at a multi-domain marine animal symbiosis. [70]
Most marine viruses are bacteriophages, which are harmless to plants and animals, but are essential to the regulation of saltwater and freshwater ecosystems. [ 56 ] : 5 They infect and destroy bacteria and archaea in aquatic microbial communities, and are the most important mechanism of recycling carbon in the marine environment.