How many Coccolithovirus genotypes does it take to terminate an Emiliania huxleyi bloom?

Andrea Highfield; Claire Evans; Anthony Walne; Peter I Miller; Declan C Schroeder

doi:10.1016/j.virol.2014.07.017

How many Coccolithovirus genotypes does it take to terminate an Emiliania huxleyi bloom?

Virology. 2014 Oct:466-467:138-45. doi: 10.1016/j.virol.2014.07.017. Epub 2014 Jul 30.

Authors

Andrea Highfield¹, Claire Evans², Anthony Walne³, Peter I Miller³, Declan C Schroeder⁴

Affiliations

¹ The Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, The Laboratory, Citadel Hill, Plymouth PL1 2PB, UK.
² Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, Plymouth, UK.
³ Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science, The Laboratory, Citadel Hill, Plymouth, UK.
⁴ The Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, The Laboratory, Citadel Hill, Plymouth PL1 2PB, UK; Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science, The Laboratory, Citadel Hill, Plymouth, UK. Electronic address: dsch@mba.ac.uk.

PMID: 25085627
DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2014.07.017

Abstract

Giant viruses are known to be significant mortality agents of phytoplankton, often being implicated in the terminations of large Emiliania huxleyi blooms. We have previously shown the high temporal variability of E. huxleyi-infecting coccolithoviruses (EhVs) within a Norwegian fjord mesocosm. In the current study we investigated EhV dynamics within a naturally-occurring E. huxleyi bloom in the Western English Channel. Using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and marker gene sequencing, we uncovered a spatially highly dynamic Coccolithovirus population that was associated with a genetically stable E. huxleyi population as revealed by the major capsid protein gene (mcp) and coccolith morphology motif (CMM), respectively. Coccolithoviruses within the bloom were found to be variable with depth and unique virus populations were detected at different stations sampled indicating a complex network of EhV-host infections. This ultimately will have significant implications to the internal structure and longevity of ecologically important E. huxleyi blooms.

Keywords: CMM; Coccolithovirus; EhV; Emiliania huxleyi; mcp.

MeSH terms

Base Sequence
Environmental Monitoring
Eutrophication
Gene Library
Genotype
Haptophyta / growth & development
Haptophyta / virology*
Host-Pathogen Interactions*
Molecular Sequence Data
Phycodnaviridae / genetics*
Phycodnaviridae / physiology
Phylogeny
Remote Sensing Technology
Seawater / virology
Sequence Analysis, DNA
Viral Proteins / genetics*

Substances

Viral Proteins

Associated data

GENBANK/GQ404381
GENBANK/GQ404382
GENBANK/GQ404383
GENBANK/GQ404384
GENBANK/GQ404385
GENBANK/GQ404386
GENBANK/GQ404387
GENBANK/GQ404388
GENBANK/GQ404389
GENBANK/GQ404390
GENBANK/GQ404391
GENBANK/GQ404392
GENBANK/GQ404393
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GENBANK/GQ404395
GENBANK/GQ404396
GENBANK/GQ404397
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GENBANK/GQ404399
GENBANK/GQ404400
GENBANK/GQ404401
GENBANK/GQ404402
GENBANK/GQ404403
GENBANK/GQ404404
GENBANK/GQ404405
GENBANK/GQ404406
GENBANK/GQ404407
GENBANK/GQ404408
GENBANK/GQ404409
GENBANK/GQ404410
GENBANK/GQ404411
GENBANK/GQ404412
GENBANK/GQ404413
GENBANK/GQ404414
GENBANK/GQ404415
GENBANK/GQ404416
GENBANK/GQ404417
GENBANK/GQ404418
GENBANK/GQ404419
GENBANK/GQ404420
GENBANK/GQ404421
GENBANK/GQ404422
GENBANK/GQ404423
GENBANK/GQ404424
GENBANK/GQ404425
GENBANK/GQ404426
GENBANK/GQ404427
GENBANK/GQ404428
GENBANK/GU936205