Aquatic viruses: the greatest reservoir of genetic diversity and drivers of global processes

水生病毒：遗传多样性的最大储存库和全球进程的驱动因素

• 批准号: 185799-2010
• 负责人: Suttle, Curtis
• 金额: $ 4.74万
• 依托单位: University of British Columbia
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2014-01-01 至 2015-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=546028
• 关键词: Aquatic; viruses; greatest; reservoir; genetic

At abundances of 1 to 100 million per mL, viruses are by far the most numerous "lifeforms" in aquatic systems; if placed end-to-end, viruses in the sea would stretch farther than the nearest 60 galaxies. They are major agents of mortality and are responsible for killing about 20% of the living material, by weight, each day in the world's oceans. Consequently, they are important drivers of biogeochemical cycling and play an important role in structuring planktonic communities. In addition to their ecological and geochemical importance, viruses are by far the largest reservoir of unknown genetic diversity in aquatic systems. The research outlined in this proposal is focused on understanding and quantifying the impact of viruses on marine planktonic systems, and characterizing their enormous genetic and biological diversity. Specifically, we will characterize unusual virus isolates, examine the genetic diversity and distribution of a number of recently discovered virus groups, determine the occurrence of viruses in zooplankton populations and determine the importance of viruses in the recycling of nitrogen. Collectively, this research will lead to major advances in our understanding of aquatic viruses, their genetic diversity and role in nutrient recycling.

病毒的丰度为每毫升 1 至 1 亿个，是迄今为止水生系统中数量最多的“生命形式”。如果首尾相连，海洋中的病毒会延伸到比最近的 60 个星系还要远的地方。它们是造成死亡的主要因素，每天杀死世界海洋中约 20% 的生物（按重量计算）。因此，它们是生物地球化学循环的重要驱动因素，并在构建浮游生物群落中发挥重要作用。除了其生态和地球化学重要性之外，病毒还是水生系统中未知遗传多样性的最大储存库。该提案中概述的研究重点是了解和量化病毒对海洋浮游系统的影响，并表征其巨大的遗传和生物多样性。具体来说，我们将表征不寻常的病毒分离株，检查一些最近发现的病毒群的遗传多样性和分布，确定浮游动物种群中病毒的出现情况，并确定病毒在氮循环中的重要性。总的来说，这项研究将推动我们对水生病毒、其遗传多样性以及在养分循环中的作用的理解取得重大进展。