A subset of viruses thrives following microbial resuscitation during rewetting of a seasonally dry California grassland soil

Alexa M. Nicolas, Ella T. Sieradzki (), Jennifer Pett-Ridge, Jillian F. Banfield, Michiko E. Taga, Mary K. Firestone and Steven J. Blazewicz ()
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Alexa M. Nicolas: University of California Berkeley
Ella T. Sieradzki: University of California Berkeley
Jennifer Pett-Ridge: Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Jillian F. Banfield: University of California Berkeley
Michiko E. Taga: University of California Berkeley
Mary K. Firestone: University of California Berkeley
Steven J. Blazewicz: Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: Abstract Viruses are abundant, ubiquitous members of soil communities that kill microbial cells, but how they respond to perturbation of soil ecosystems is essentially unknown. Here, we investigate lineage-specific virus-host dynamics in grassland soil following “wet-up”, when resident microbes are both resuscitated and lysed after a prolonged dry period. Quantitative isotope tracing, time-resolved metagenomics and viromic analyses indicate that dry soil holds a diverse but low biomass reservoir of virions, of which only a subset thrives following wet-up. Viral richness decreases by 50% within 24 h post wet-up, while viral biomass increases four-fold within one week. Though recent hypotheses suggest lysogeny predominates in soil, our evidence indicates that viruses in lytic cycles dominate the response to wet-up. We estimate that viruses drive a measurable and continuous rate of cell lysis, with up to 46% of microbial death driven by viral lysis one week following wet-up. Thus, viruses contribute to turnover of soil microbial biomass and the widely reported CO2 efflux following wet-up of seasonally dry soils.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40835-4

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