EAGER: Discovery of viruses infecting marine Copepoda

EAGER：发现感染海洋桡足类的病毒

• 批准号: 1049670
• 负责人: Mya Breitbart
• 金额: $ 29.95万
• 依托单位: University of South Florida
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-10-01 至 2013-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1049670&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: EAGER; Discovery; viruses; infecting; marine

Mesozooplankton are critical components of marine food webs as the primary consumers of phytoplankton, as prey for upper trophic level predators including commercially important fish, and by mediating carbon transfer from the atmosphere to the ocean interior through fecal matter deposition. Thus, the factors that control population dynamics of zooplankton are critical to understanding the structure and function of marine food webs. Two decades of research on marine viruses have demonstrated their profound effects on all levels of marine life from bacteria to whales. The majority of marine virus studies have focused on infection of microorganisms, particularly heterotrophic prokaryotes and eukaryotic phytoplankton. Despite the ecological importance of zooplankton, virtually nothing is known about the impact of viruses on the most abundant zooplankton group - the copepods. This project will prospect for novel viruses in Acartia tonsa, a dominant calanoid copepod in Tampa Bay, Florida using metagenomic sequencing approaches. The viral load, prevalence, and environmental reservoirs for selected newly identified viruses will then be examined using quantitative PCR. This study will present the biological oceanography community with novel information on the diversity and prevalence of viruses in copepods. An increased understanding of the types of viruses infecting mesozooplankton will increase knowledge of viral diversity in the oceans and provide sequence information on a poorly-constrained genetic pool. The long-term goal of this project is to understand the impact of viruses on zooplankton population dynamics as agents of mortality and, therefore, ultimately how viral infections affect food web interactions and biogeochemical cycling in the oceans. Determining the type of viruses present in copepods and the prevalence of these viruses are critical first steps in determining the role of viruses in zooplankton ecology. The high risk-high payoff of this research makes it an ideal candidate for EAGER funding. Understanding the role of viruses in mesozooplankton ecology will fill a major gap in knowledge of marine ecosystem dynamics, and has the potential to be transformative for oceanography.The broader impacts of the study will include the training of two undergraduate students and one graduate student. The research will also be used to frame demonstrations of plankton and viral ecology as part of an Oceanography Camp for Girls, which seeks to increase the participation of females in science and engineering careers.

Mesozooplankton是海洋食品网的关键组成部分，作为浮游植物的主要消费者，作为包括商业上重要鱼类在内的上营养水平的捕食者，并通过将碳转移从大气中传递到海洋内部，并通过粪便通过粪便物质沉积。因此，控制浮游动物的人群动态的因素对于理解海洋食品网的结构和功能至关重要。关于海洋病毒的二十年研究已经证明了它们对从细菌到鲸鱼的所有海洋生物的深远影响。大多数海洋病毒研究都集中在微生物的感染上，尤其是杂营原核生物和真核浮游植物。尽管浮游动物的生态重要性，但几乎没有什么知之甚少，关于病毒对最丰富的浮游动物组-Copepods的影响。该项目将使用元基因组测序方法Acartia Tonsa中的新病毒前景，Acartia Tonsa是佛罗里达州坦帕湾的主要calanoid copepod。然后，将使用定量PCR检查选定新鉴定的病毒的病毒载荷，患病率和环境库。这项研究将向生物海洋学社区提供有关copepods病毒多样性和流行率的新信息。对感染中龙龙的病毒类型的更多理解将增加对海洋病毒多样性的了解，并提供有关受约束不良的遗传库的序列信息。该项目的长期目标是了解病毒对浮游动力的影响作为死亡的药物，因此，病毒感染如何影响食物网络相互作用和海洋中的生物地球化学循环。确定Copepods中存在的病毒类型以及这些病毒的流行是确定病毒在浮游动物生态学中的作用的关键第一步。这项研究的高风险高收益使其成为渴望资助的理想候选人。了解病毒在中龙兰克顿生态学中的作用将填补有关海洋生态系统动态知识的主要差距，并有可能对海洋学进行变革。该研究的更广泛影响包括对两名本科生和一名研究生的培训。这项研究还将用于将浮游生物和病毒生态学的演示作为女孩的一部分，作为女孩的海洋学训练营，该营地试图增加女性从事科学和工程职业的参与。