Bacteria-infecting viruses in the sea

Abstract

Virusi su najbrojnije biološke čestice na Zemlji. No, tek nedavno je otkrivena njihova visoka abundacija u oceanima, procjenjuje se na oko 10 milijuna virusa po mililitru. Ta neočekivana brojka pobudila je zanimanje velikog broja znanstvenika za ulogu tih virusa u ekosustavu Zemlje. Zbog njihove male veličine, tek se usavršavaju metode istraživanja. Dokazano, većina tih virusa napada bakterija, tj. prokariotski su virusi. Osim što utječu na mortalitet bakterija (dnevno liziraju 20- 40% prokariota), pokazalo se da imaju i značajnu ulogu u održavanju ravnoteže bioraznolikosti bakterija, horizontalnom prijenosu gena te una biogeokemijskim procesima. Proučavanje prokariotskih virusa daje nam još bolji uvid u procese koji se odvijaju u oceanima, koji u konačnici utječu na cijelu Zemlju.Viruses are the most abundant biological entities on Earth. However, their high abundance in the oceans was dicovered only recently, estimated at approximately 10 milion of viruses per milliliter. That unexpected number made many scientists interested in the role of these viruses in the Earth's ecosystem. Due to their small size, methods for researching them are in need of continual improvement. It is established that most of these viruses attack bacteria, that is, they are prokaryotic viruses. Apart from influencing the mortality of the bacteria (lysing 20-40% of them daily) it was shown that they play a significant role in maintaining the bacteria's biodiversity balance, their horizontal gene transfer, and in affecting biogeochemical circles. Researching prokaryotic viruses gives us an even better view on the processes taking place in the oceans, which in turn impact the entire Earth