Influence of light on the infection of Aureococcus anophagefferens CCMP 1984 by a "giant virus".

The pelagophyte Aureococcus anophagefferens has caused recurrent brown tide blooms along the northeast coast of the United States since the mid-1980's, and more recently spread to other regions of the globe. These blooms, due to the high cell densities, are associated with severe light attenuat...

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Main Authors: Eric R Gann, P Jackson Gainer, Todd B Reynolds, Steven W Wilhelm
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2020-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0226758&type=printable
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author Eric R Gann
P Jackson Gainer
Todd B Reynolds
Steven W Wilhelm
author_facet Eric R Gann
P Jackson Gainer
Todd B Reynolds
Steven W Wilhelm
author_sort Eric R Gann
collection DOAJ
description The pelagophyte Aureococcus anophagefferens has caused recurrent brown tide blooms along the northeast coast of the United States since the mid-1980's, and more recently spread to other regions of the globe. These blooms, due to the high cell densities, are associated with severe light attenuation that destroys the sea grass beds which provide the basis for many fisheries. Data collected by transmission electron microscopy, PCR, and metatranscriptomic studies of the blooms, support the hypothesis that large dsDNA viruses play a role in bloom dynamics. While a large (~140 nm) icosahedral virus, with a 371 kbp genome, was first isolated more than a decade ago, the constraints imposed by environmental parameters on bloom infection dynamics by Aureococcus anophagefferens Virus, (AaV) remain unknown. To investigate the role light plays in infection by this virus, we acclimated A. anophagefferens to light intensities of 30 (low), 60 (medium) or 90 μmol photons m-2 s-1 (high) and infected cultures at these irradiance levels. Moreover, we completed light shift experiments where acclimated cultures were exposed to even lower light intensities (0, 5, and 15 μmol photons m-2 s-1) consistent with irradiance found during the peak of the bloom when cell concentrations are highest. The abundance of viruses produced per lytic event (burst size) was lower in the low irradiance acclimated cultures compared to the medium and high acclimated cultures. Transferring infected cultures to more-limiting light availabilities further decreased burst size and increased the length of time it took for cultures to lyse, regardless of acclimation irradiance level. A hypothetical mechanism for the reduced efficiency of the infection cycle in low light due to ribosome biogenesis was predicted from pre-existing transcriptomes. Overall, these studies provide a framework for understanding light effects on infection dynamics over the course of the summer months when A. anophagefferens blooms occur.
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spelling doaj-art-ffc9f416d6c54bbab07b2c4283fe57972025-08-20T02:55:12ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032020-01-01151e022675810.1371/journal.pone.0226758Influence of light on the infection of Aureococcus anophagefferens CCMP 1984 by a "giant virus".Eric R GannP Jackson GainerTodd B ReynoldsSteven W WilhelmThe pelagophyte Aureococcus anophagefferens has caused recurrent brown tide blooms along the northeast coast of the United States since the mid-1980's, and more recently spread to other regions of the globe. These blooms, due to the high cell densities, are associated with severe light attenuation that destroys the sea grass beds which provide the basis for many fisheries. Data collected by transmission electron microscopy, PCR, and metatranscriptomic studies of the blooms, support the hypothesis that large dsDNA viruses play a role in bloom dynamics. While a large (~140 nm) icosahedral virus, with a 371 kbp genome, was first isolated more than a decade ago, the constraints imposed by environmental parameters on bloom infection dynamics by Aureococcus anophagefferens Virus, (AaV) remain unknown. To investigate the role light plays in infection by this virus, we acclimated A. anophagefferens to light intensities of 30 (low), 60 (medium) or 90 μmol photons m-2 s-1 (high) and infected cultures at these irradiance levels. Moreover, we completed light shift experiments where acclimated cultures were exposed to even lower light intensities (0, 5, and 15 μmol photons m-2 s-1) consistent with irradiance found during the peak of the bloom when cell concentrations are highest. The abundance of viruses produced per lytic event (burst size) was lower in the low irradiance acclimated cultures compared to the medium and high acclimated cultures. Transferring infected cultures to more-limiting light availabilities further decreased burst size and increased the length of time it took for cultures to lyse, regardless of acclimation irradiance level. A hypothetical mechanism for the reduced efficiency of the infection cycle in low light due to ribosome biogenesis was predicted from pre-existing transcriptomes. Overall, these studies provide a framework for understanding light effects on infection dynamics over the course of the summer months when A. anophagefferens blooms occur.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0226758&type=printable
spellingShingle Eric R Gann
P Jackson Gainer
Todd B Reynolds
Steven W Wilhelm
Influence of light on the infection of Aureococcus anophagefferens CCMP 1984 by a "giant virus".
PLoS ONE
title Influence of light on the infection of Aureococcus anophagefferens CCMP 1984 by a "giant virus".
title_full Influence of light on the infection of Aureococcus anophagefferens CCMP 1984 by a "giant virus".
title_fullStr Influence of light on the infection of Aureococcus anophagefferens CCMP 1984 by a "giant virus".
title_full_unstemmed Influence of light on the infection of Aureococcus anophagefferens CCMP 1984 by a "giant virus".
title_short Influence of light on the infection of Aureococcus anophagefferens CCMP 1984 by a "giant virus".
title_sort influence of light on the infection of aureococcus anophagefferens ccmp 1984 by a giant virus
url https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0226758&type=printable
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