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VIRUSES AND PHYTOPLANKTON CO-EVOLVE. "It is estimated that 20%–40% of microorganisms in surface sea waters are killed by viruses each day. Being basal components of marine microbial food webs, viruses thus significantly contribute to the cycling of energy and nutrient on a global scale."" " http://lnkd.in/dWGhytf View in LinkedIn

GENETIC DIVERSITY IN PHYTOPLANKTON. "Comparisons across strains demonstrate that E. huxleyi, which has long been considered a single species, harbours extensive genome variability reflected in different metabolic repertoires. Genome variability within this species complex seems to underpin its capacity both to thrive in habitats ranging from the equator to the subarctic and to form large-scale episodic blooms under a wide variety of environmental conditions."" " http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/23760476/ View in LinkedIn

BILATERAL GENE TRANSFER between viruses and phytoplankton. "The first case of horizontal gene transfer of multiple functionally linked enzymes in a eukaryotic phytoplankton-virus system. The virus-to-host direction suggests the existence of ancient viruses that controlled the complex metabolic pathway... the host-to-virus direction suggests that the serial acquisition of genes involved in the same metabolic pathway... a strategy for the ancestor of EhVs to stay ahead of their closest relatives in the great evolutionary race for survival."" " http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/19451591/ View in LinkedIn

MARINE VIRUSES CAUSE BILATERAL GENE TRANSFER IN PHYTOPLANKTON adding to their genetic diversity. "Along with the sequencing of the EhV-86 genome came the discovery, for the first time in a virus, of a series of enzyme-coding genes predicted to be involved in the biosynthesis of sphingolipids. Viruses are known to carry a variety of host genes." The host sphingolipid genes in the virus are thought to cause host death by apoptosis. " " http://lnkd.in/dWGhytf View in LinkedIn

EQUALLY ENORMOUS OCEANIC VIRAL BIOMASS. "Viruses are the most abundant ‘life forms’ in aquatic systems, and their number probably exceeds 10(29) in the ocean... the viral string-of-pearls would be 400 000 light years long. In comparison, the diameter of our galaxy, the Milky Way, is only 25,000 light years... has prompted research showing that they play a significant role in the transfer of matter and energy in aquatic microbial food webs."" " http://lnkd.in/dxsSymN View in LinkedIn

ENORMOUS BIOMASS OF PHYTOPLANKTON inevitably is the foundation of not just the well-known ecosystem of bigger creatures like krill eating the phytoplankton, and bigger fish eating the krill, but of the viruses that also exploit this huge amount of rich food. The virus strategy can be subtle and symbiotic, or fatal and lytic, and have great control of phytoplankton blooms. View in LinkedIn

MARINE VIRUSES THE MOST PLENTIFUL in seawater, at 10 billion per liter. Up to half the flux of matter and energy in marine food webs pass through these under-appreciated creatures. Pseudolysogeny is a mechanism where viral genetic material may remain in the host for several generations and is active in marine phytoplankton-viral relationships. " " http://lnkd.in/dAmGPbZ View in LinkedIn

PAN-GENOMES OF PHYTOPLANKTON. "Comparisons across strains demonstrate that E. huxleyi, which has long been considered a single species, harbours extensive genome variability reflected in different metabolic repertoires. Genome variability within this species complex seems to underpin its capacity both to thrive in habitats ranging from the equator to the subarctic and to form large-scale episodic blooms under a wide variety of environmental conditions."" " http://lnkd.in/d3snKGx View in LinkedIn

GENOMIC ADAPTABILITY OF PHYTOPLANKTON. "This considerable genetic diversity will hopefully allow the alga to cope with the current changes in the oceans, such as rising water temperatures and increasing carbon dioxide levels."" " https://www.helmholtz.de/en/artikel/genome-analysis-adaptability-of-haptophyte-uncovered-1676/ View in LinkedIn

PHYTOPLANKTON'S PAN-GENOME. Scientists have "deciphered the genome of Emiliania huxleyi and, in doing so, have found an explanation for the unicellular organism's enormous adaptability and distribution. It possesses a so-called pan-genome. This means that this species shares a given, comparatively small basic set of genes, which is augmented by different genes depending on their habitat." Previously this was thought to only occur in bacteria and explains their remarkable adaptive capacity. " " https://www.helmholtz.de/en/artikel/genome-analysis-adaptability-of-haptophyte-uncovered-1676/ View in LinkedIn