Virocell Metabolism: Metabolic Innovations During Host–Virus Interactions in the Ocean

Marine viruses are considered to be major ecological, evolutionary, and biogeochemical drivers of the marine environment, responsible for nutrient recycling and determining species composition. Viruses can re-shape their host's metabolic network during infection, generating the virocell–a uniqu...

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Published inTrends in microbiology (Regular ed.) Vol. 24; no. 10; pp. 821 - 832
Main Authors Rosenwasser, Shilo, Ziv, Carmit, Creveld, Shiri Graff van, Vardi, Assaf
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2016
Subjects
auxiliary metabolic genes
cyanophages
DNA Viruses - genetics
DNA Viruses - metabolism
Food Chain
Giant Viruses - genetics
Giant Viruses - metabolism
Haptophyta - ultrastructure
Haptophyta - virology
Host-Pathogen Interactions - genetics
Host-Pathogen Interactions - physiology
host–virus coevolution
Internal Medicine
large dsDNA viruses
marine viruses
metabolic networks
Metabolic Networks and Pathways
Phylogeny
Phytoplankton - virology
Seawater - virology
Symbiosis
virocell phytoplankton
Virus Diseases
auxiliary metabolic genes
host–virus coevolution
metabolic networks
virocell phytoplankton
marine viruses
cyanophages
large dsDNA viruses
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Summary:Marine viruses are considered to be major ecological, evolutionary, and biogeochemical drivers of the marine environment, responsible for nutrient recycling and determining species composition. Viruses can re-shape their host's metabolic network during infection, generating the virocell–a unique metabolic state that supports their specific requirement. Here we discuss the concept of ‘virocell metabolism’ and its formation by rewiring of host-encoded metabolic networks, or by introducing virus-encoded auxiliary metabolic genes which provide the virocell with novel metabolic capabilities. The ecological role of marine viruses is commonly assessed by their relative abundance and phylogenetic diversity, lacking the ability to assess the dynamics of active viral infection. The new ability to define a unique metabolic state of the virocell will expand the current virion-centric approaches in order to quantify the impact of marine viruses on microbial food webs.
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ISSN:0966-842X
1878-4380
DOI:10.1016/j.tim.2016.06.006