期刊
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
卷 112, 期 16, 页码 E2014-E2019出版社
NATL ACAD SCIENCES
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1422234112
关键词
deep-sea ecosystems; virus-prokaryote interactions; ecosystem functioning
资金
- Flagship Project RITMARE (Italian Research for the Sea)
- Italian Ministry of Education, Universities, and Research within the National Research Program
- national project EXPLODIVE (A metagenomic approach for exploring microbial diversity and gene flows in deep-sea ecosystems) (FIRB) [I31J10000060001]
- European Commission [226354]
- MIDAS (Managing impacts of deep-sea resource exploitation) [603418]
Viruses are key biological agents of prokaryotic mortality in the world oceans, particularly in deep-sea ecosystems where nearly all of the prokaryotic C production is transformed into organic detritus. However, the extent to which the decomposition of viral particles (i.e., organic material of viral origin) influences the functioning of benthic deep-sea ecosystems remains completely unknown. Here, using various independent approaches, we show that in deep-sea sediments an important fraction of viruses, once they are released by cell lysis, undergo fast decomposition. Virus decomposition rates in deep-sea sediments are high even at abyssal depths and are controlled primarily by the extracellular enzymatic activities that hydrolyze the proteins of the viral capsids. We estimate that on a global scale the decomposition of benthic viruses releases similar to 37-50 megatons of C per year and thus represents an important source of labile organic compounds in deep-sea ecosystems. Organic material released from decomposed viruses is equivalent to 3 +/- 1%, 6 +/- 2%, and 12 +/- 3% of the input of photosynthetically produced C, N, and P supplied through particles sinking to bathyal/abyssal sediments. Our data indicate that the decomposition of viruses provides an important, previously ignored contribution to deep-sea ecosystem functioning and has an important role in nutrient cycling within the largest ecosystem of the biosphere.
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