Major viral impact on the functioning of benthic deep-sea ecosystems

Roberto Danovaro (), Antonio Dell’Anno, Cinzia Corinaldesi, Mirko Magagnini, Rachel Noble, Christian Tamburini and Markus Weinbauer
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Roberto Danovaro: Faculty of Science, Polytechnic University of Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
Antonio Dell’Anno: Faculty of Science, Polytechnic University of Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
Cinzia Corinaldesi: Faculty of Science, Polytechnic University of Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
Mirko Magagnini: Faculty of Science, Polytechnic University of Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
Rachel Noble: Institute of Marine Sciences, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 3431 Arendell Street, Morehead City, North Carolina 28557, USA
Christian Tamburini: Université de la Méditerranée, Centre d'Océanologie de Marseille, UMR 6117–CNRS, Campus de Luminy, Case 901, 163 Avenue de Luminy, 13288 Marseille, Cedex 9, France
Markus Weinbauer: CNRS

Nature, 2008, vol. 454, issue 7208, 1084-1087

Abstract: Abstract Viruses are the most abundant biological organisms of the world’s oceans. Viral infections are a substantial source of mortality in a range of organisms—including autotrophic and heterotrophic plankton—but their impact on the deep ocean and benthic biosphere is completely unknown. Here we report that viral production in deep-sea benthic ecosystems worldwide is extremely high, and that viral infections are responsible for the abatement of 80% of prokaryotic heterotrophic production. Virus-induced prokaryotic mortality increases with increasing water depth, and beneath a depth of 1,000 m nearly all of the prokaryotic heterotrophic production is transformed into organic detritus. The viral shunt, releasing on a global scale ∼0.37–0.63 gigatonnes of carbon per year, is an essential source of labile organic detritus in the deep-sea ecosystems. This process sustains a high prokaryotic biomass and provides an important contribution to prokaryotic metabolism, allowing the system to cope with the severe organic resource limitation of deep-sea ecosystems. Our results indicate that viruses have an important role in global biogeochemical cycles, in deep-sea metabolism and the overall functioning of the largest ecosystem of our biosphere.

Date: 2008
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DOI: 10.1038/nature07268

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