Back to Search
Start Over
Viral production, decay rates, and life strategies along a trophic gradient in the North Adriatic Sea.
- Source :
-
Applied and environmental microbiology [Appl Environ Microbiol] 2005 Nov; Vol. 71 (11), pp. 6644-50. - Publication Year :
- 2005
-
Abstract
- Although the relationships between trophic conditions and viral dynamics have been widely explored in different pelagic environments, there have been few attempts at independent estimates of both viral production and decay. In this study, we investigated factors controlling the balance between viral production and decay along a trophic gradient in the north Adriatic basin, providing independent estimates of these variables and determining the relative importance of nanoflagellate grazing and viral life strategies. Increasing trophic conditions induced an increase of bacterioplankton growth rates and of the burst sizes. As a result, eutrophic waters displayed highest rates of viral production, which considerably exceeded observed rates of viral decay (up to 2.9 x 10(9) VLP liter(-1) h(-1)). Viral decay was also higher in eutrophic waters, where it accounted for ca. 40% of viral production, and dropped significantly to 1.3 to 10.7% in oligotrophic waters. These results suggest that viral production and decay rates may not necessarily be balanced in the short term, resulting in a net increase of viruses in the system. In eutrophic waters nanoflagellate grazing, dissolved-colloidal substances, and lysogenic infection were responsible together for the removal of ca. 66% of viral production versus 17% in oligotrophic waters. Our results suggest that different causative agents are primarily responsible for the removal of viruses from the water column in different trophic conditions. Factors other than those considered in the past might shed light on processes responsible for the removal and/or decay of viral particles from the water column.
- Subjects :
- Animals
Bacteria growth & development
Eukaryota growth & development
Eukaryota physiology
Feeding Behavior
Lysogeny
Mediterranean Sea
Plankton growth & development
Seawater microbiology
Seawater parasitology
Bacteria virology
Bacteriophages growth & development
Bacteriophages physiology
Seawater virology
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 0099-2240
- Volume :
- 71
- Issue :
- 11
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Applied and environmental microbiology
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 16269692
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.71.11.6644-6650.2005