Breaking the Ice: A Review of Phages in Polar Ecosystems

Abstract

Bacteriophages, or phages, are viruses that infect and replicate within bacterial hosts, playing a significant role in regulating microbial populations and ecosystem dynamics. However, phages from extreme environments such as polar regions remain relatively understudied due to challenges like restricted ecosystem access and low biomass. Understanding the diversity, structure, and functions of polar phages is crucial for advancing our knowledge of the microbial ecology and biogeochemistry of these environments. In this review, we will explore the current state of knowledge on phages from the Arctic and Antarctic, focusing on insights gained from -omic studies, phage isolation, and virus-like particle abundance data. Metagenomic studies of polar environments have revealed a high diversity of phages with unique genetic characteristics, providing insights into their evolutionary and ecological roles. Phage isolation studies have identified novel phage-host interactions and contributed to the discovery of new phage species.Virus-like particle abundance and lysis rate data, on the other hand, have highlighted the importance of phages in regulating bacterial populations and nutrient cycling in polar environments. Overall, this review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge about polar phages, and by synthesizing these different sources of information, we can better understand the diversity, dynamics, and functions of polar phages in the context of ongoing climate change, which will help to predict how polar ecosystems and residing phages may respond to future environmental perturbations.

Multiple eco-regions contribute to the seasonal cycle of Antarctic aerosol size distributions

“…Further, the formation of marine primary aerosol particles and of gas-to-particles precursors is influenced by the uppermost layer of the ocean, the so called sea surface microlayer (SML) (Cunliffe et al, 2013). The SML -with physicochemical characteristics different from those of subsurface waters (SSW) -620 results in dense and active viral and microbial communities (Vaque et al, 2021, Heinrichs et al, 2024. The microlayer of the ocean is a source of oxygenated VOCs in the Arctic leading to secondary aerosol formation (Mungall et al, 2017), and it is also likely a source in the Southern Ocean too although no measurements of this type are available.…”