Development of a Method to Measure in Situ Phage Production Rates in the Sea

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The quantitative role of bacteriophages in the biogeochemical cycles of the marine environment is a most urgent question. At present, there is no direct method to measure phage production, only indirect estimates of phage production based on measures of phage decay rates by Norwegians scientists. This project will develop urgently needed and innovative techniques for measuring phage production in seawater. Two radiotracer approaches will be attempted to specifically measure DNA and RNA phage production. The approach is risky because the strategy is to metabolically label bacteria and secondarily the phage DNA and RNA. The methods will be calibrated and field tested to assess whether or not phage proliferation is an important process in marine ecosystems.