Genetic diversity of marine <i>Synechococcus</i> and co‐occurring cyanophage communities: evidence for viral control of phytoplankton

Mühling, Martin; Fuller, Nicholas J.; Millard, Andrew; Somerfield, Paul J.; Marie, Dominique; Wilson, William H.; Scanlan, David J.; Post, Anton F.; Joint, Ian; Mann, Nicholas H.

doi:10.1111/j.1462-2920.2005.00713.x

Cited by 177 publications

(210 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…In theory, even if small, a COR can allow for the coexistence sensitive bacteria, resistant bacteria and a virus population (Bohannan and Lenski, 2000). Hence, by detecting a significant COR in some of our experiments, our results are consistent with the view that viruses play a role in promoting Synechococcus diversity in marine waters (Muhling et al, 2005). Results from our study also provide insight into potential evolutionary controls on the virusinduced mortality of marine bacteria.…”

Section: Cor Affected By Compositional Resistancesupporting

confidence: 79%

Is there a cost of virus resistance in marine cyanobacteria?

et al. 2007

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Owing to their abundance and diversity, it is generally perceived that viruses are important for structuring microbial communities and regulating biogeochemical cycles. The ecological impact of viruses on microbial food webs, however, may be influenced by evolutionary processes, including the ability of bacteria to evolve resistance to viruses and the theoretical prediction that this resistance should be accompanied by a fitness cost. We conducted experiments using phylogenetically distinct strains of marine Synechococcus (Cyanobacteria) to test for a cost of resistance (COR) to viral isolates collected from Mount Hope Bay, Rhode Island. In addition, we examined whether fitness costs (1) increased proportionally with ‘total resistance’, the number of viruses for which a strain had evolved resistance, or (2) were determined more by ‘compositional resistance’, the identity of the viruses to which it evolved resistance. A COR was only found in half of our experiments, which may be attributed to compensatory mutations or the inability to detect a small COR. When detected, the COR resulted in a ∼20% reduction in relative fitness compared to ancestral strains. The COR was unaffected by total resistance, suggesting a pleiotropic fitness response. Under competitive conditions, however, the COR was dependent on compositional resistance, suggesting that fitness costs were associated with the identity of a few particular viruses. Our study provides the first evidence for a COR in marine bacteria, and suggests that Synechococcus production may be influenced by the composition of co-occurring viruses.

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Section: Cor Affected By Compositional Resistancesupporting

confidence: 79%

Is there a cost of virus resistance in marine cyanobacteria?

et al. 2007

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“…For example, Mü hling et al (2005) analysed an annual cycle from the same geographical sampling site in the Gulf of Aqaba and showed that myoviral diversity and abundance were correlated to the co-occurring Synechococcus population diversity and abundance; this correlation was even higher when a lag-time of 1 month was introduced. Such a lag between host and viral population dynamics was also observed by Bratbak et al (1996) in coastal waters.…”

Section: Cyanomyoviruses Environmental Conditions and Cyanobacterialmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, Mü hling et al (2005) analysed the diversity and abundance of both Synechococcus (using a rpoC1-based restriction fragment length polymorphism-approach; Mü hling et al, 2006), and Synechococcus-infecting cyanophages (using g20 as molecular marker; Fuller et al, 1998), in the Gulf of Aqaba over an annual cycle and found that cyanophages had an important role, controlling of the diversity and abundance of the co-occurring Synechococcus population.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The diversity of cyanomyovirus populations along a North–South Atlantic Ocean transect

et al. 2011

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Viruses that infect the marine cyanobacterium Prochlorococcus have the potential to impact the growth, productivity, diversity and abundance of their hosts. In this study, changes in the microdiversity of cyanomyoviruses were investigated in 10 environmental samples taken along a North-South Atlantic Ocean transect using a myoviral-specific PCR-sequencing approach. Phylogenetic analyses of 630 viral g20 clones from this study, with 786 published g20 sequences, revealed that myoviral populations in the Atlantic Ocean had higher diversity than previously reported, with several novel putative g20 clades. Some of these clades were detected throughout the Atlantic Ocean. Multivariate statistical analyses did not reveal any significant correlations between myoviral diversity and environmental parameters, although myoviral diversity appeared to be lowest in samples collected from the north and south of the transect where Prochlorococcus diversity was also lowest. The results were correlated to the abundance and diversity of the co-occurring Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus populations, but revealed no significant correlations to either of the two potential host genera. This study provides evidence that cyanophages have extremely high and variable diversity and are distributed over large areas of the Atlantic Ocean.

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“…Viral infection, though, could also result in similar patterns. Natural Synechococcus assemblages are diverse, with many viruses thought to be specific to certain Synechococcus types [71]. These periodic decreases could be a result of viral lysis of one type of Synechococcus or an attack on sensitive types [112] that have temporarily been allowed to increase.…”

Section: Summer and Fall Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Population dynamics and diversity of Synechococcus on the New England Shelf

Hunter-Cevera¹

2014

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Synechococcus is a ubiquitous marine primary producer. Our understanding of the factors that determine its abundance has been limited by available observational tools, which have not been able to resolve population dynamics at timescales that match response times of cells (hours-days). Development of an automated flow cytometer (FlowCytobot) has enabled hourly observation of Synechococcus at the Martha's Vineyard Coastal Observatory (MVCO) since 2003. In order to ascribe changes in cell abundances to either growth or loss processes, information on division rate is needed. I refined a matrix population model that relates diel changes in the distribution of cell volume to division rate and demonstrated that it provides accurate estimates of daily division rate for both cultured and natural populations. Application of the model to the 11-year MVCO time series reveals that division rate is temperature limited during winter and spring, but light limited during fall. Inferred loss rates closely follow division rate in magnitude over the entire seasonal cycle, suggesting that losses are mainly generated by biological processes. While Synechococcus cell abundance, division rate, and loss rate demonstrate striking seasonal patterns, there are also significant shorter timescale variations and important multi-year trends that may be linked to climate. Interpretation of population dynamic patterns is complicated by the diversity found within marine Synechococcus, which is partitioned into 20 genetically distinct clades. Each clade may represent an ecotype, with a distinct ecological niche. To understand how diversity may affect population dynamics, I assessed the diversity at MVCO over annual cycles with culture-independent and dependent approaches. The population at MVCO is diverse, but dominated by clade I representatives throughout the year. Other clades were only found during summer and fall. High through-put sequencing of a diversity marker allowed a more quantitative investigation into these patterns. Five main Synechococcus oligotypes that comprise the population showed seasonal abundance patterns: peaking either during the spring bloom or during late summer and fall. This pattern strongly suggests that features of seasonal abundance are affected by the underlying diversity structure. Synechococcus abundance patterns result from a complex interplay among seasonal environmental changes, diversity, and biological losses.

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Genetic diversity of marine Synechococcus and co‐occurring cyanophage communities: evidence for viral control of phytoplankton

Cited by 177 publications

References 31 publications

Is there a cost of virus resistance in marine cyanobacteria?

Is there a cost of virus resistance in marine cyanobacteria?

The diversity of cyanomyovirus populations along a North–South Atlantic Ocean transect

Population dynamics and diversity of Synechococcus on the New England Shelf

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