EXPLORING THE ROLE OF MARINE RNA VIRUSES IN PHYTOPLANKTON BLOOM DYNAMICS - A MESOCOSM STUDY

Marine RNA viruses are abundant and diverse in the global ocean. Their ability to infect a wide range of protistan and invertebrate hosts makes them ecologically relevant, as many confirmed hosts are important primary producers and drivers of carbon export (e.g., diatoms, dinoflagellates, and raphidophytes). Despite their importance, RNA viruses remain understudied with metrics such as biomass, biogeographic distribution, abundance patterns, and ecological significance in marine ecosystems poorly constrained.  Our project aims to bridge this gap by observing the relationship between RNA viruses and putative hosts in a controlled experiment. In this study, we stimulated a (mostly diatom) bloom in seawater-filled mesocosms with daily sampling of the microbial and viral communities. DNA and RNA from the mesocosm samples will be extracted and sequenced, bioinformatic analyses will determine the composition of viral, bacterial, and protistan communities, and statistical analysis will be used to infer relationships. The data collected in this study will help us better understand the role that marine RNA viruses play in the progression and potential termination of phytoplankton bloom events. Given that RNA viral hosts are important contributors to oceanic carbon flux, conclusions drawn from this research will have potential applications in global ocean carbon modeling.

Presentation Preference: Poster

Primary Presenter: Makena Gichuru, University of San Francisco (mkgichuru@dons.usfca.edu)

Authors:

Daria Di Blasi, University of Southern California  (ddiblasi@usc.edu)

Jelani Williams, University of Southern California  (jelaniwi@usc.edu)

Makena Gichuru, University of San Francisco  (mkgichuru@dons.usfca.edu)

Jed Fuhrman, University of Southern California  (fuhrman@usc.edu)