CA Suttle

Curtis A Suttle

Retrovirology

English

PubMed

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Viruses: a vast reservoir of genetic diversity and driver of global processes

BioMed Central
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Retrovirology
Open AccessInvited speaker presentation
Viruses: a vast reservoir of genetic diversity and driver of global 
processes
Curtis A Suttle
Address: Departments of Earth & Ocean Sciences, Microbiology & Immunology, and Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British 
Columbia, Canada V6T 1Z4
Viruses are by far the most abundant ''lifeforms'' in the
ocean; they exist wherever life is found. The estimated
1030 viruses in the ocean, if stretched end-to-end, would
span farther than the nearest 60 galaxies. Every second
there are about 1023 viral infections in the ocean. These
infections are a major source of mortality; they influence
the composition of marine communities, cause disease in
organisms ranging from shrimp to whales, and drive bio-
geochemical cycles [1,2]. Each infection potentially intro-
duces new genetic information into an organism, or into
progeny viruses, and thereby drives the evolution of the
host and viral assemblages. Our understanding of the
impact of viruses on global systems continues to unfold,
overthrowing the paradigm that viruses and viral-medi-
ated processes are sidebars to global processes. My presen-
tation will explore the current state of knowledge on the
abundance and diversity of viruses in the sea, and the role
that viruses play on nutrient and energy cycles. Gene-
based and metagenomic approaches have revealed enor-
mous genetic richness in marine viral assemblages. For
example, sequences of highly-conserved genes from envi-
ronmental samples have shown vast genetic richness
within related groups of viruses, and exposed the exist-
ence of many genetically distinct groups for which there
are no cultured representatives.
References
1. Suttle CA: Viruses in the sea.  Nature 2005, 437:356-361.
2. Suttle CA: Marine viruses - major players in the global ecosys-
tem.  Nature Reviews Microbiology 2007, 5:801-812.
from Frontiers of Retrovirology: Complex retroviruses, retroelements and their hosts
Montpellier, France. 21-23 September 2009
Published: 24 September 2009
Retrovirology 2009, 6(Suppl 2):I7 doi:10.1186/1742-4690-6-S2-I7
<supplement> <title> <p>Frontiers of Retrovirology: Complex retroviruses, retroelements and their hosts</p> </title> <note>Meeting abstracts - A single PDF containing all abstracts in this Supplement is available <a href="http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/files/pdf/1742-4690-6-S2-full.pdf">here</a>.</note> <url>http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1742-4690-6-S2-info.pdf</url> </supplement>
This abstract is available from: http://www.retrovirology.com/content/6/S2/I7
© 2009 Suttle; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 


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Marine viruses - major players in the global ecosystem. Nature Reviews Microbiology 2007, 5:801-812. from Frontiers of Retrovirology: Complex retroviruses, retroelements and their hosts

Viruses in the sea. Nature

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Viruses: a vast reservoir of genetic diversity and driver of global processes

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