EAGER: Discovery of viruses infecting marine Copepoda

中游动物是海洋食物网的关键组成部分，是浮游植物的主要消费者，是包括具有商业价值的鱼类在内的上层营养层捕食者的猎物，并通过粪便沉积调节碳从大气向海洋内部的转移。因此，控制浮游动物种群动态的因素对于理解海洋食物网的结构和功能至关重要。二十年来对海洋病毒的研究已经证明，它们对从细菌到鲸鱼的各种海洋生物都有深远的影响。大多数海洋病毒研究都集中在微生物，特别是异养原核生物和真核浮游植物的感染上。尽管浮游动物具有重要的生态意义，但关于病毒对最丰富的浮游动物群体--桡足类--的影响，人们几乎一无所知。该项目将利用元基因组测序方法，在位于佛罗里达州坦帕湾的一种优势类桡足类足类动物Acartia tonsa中寻找新的病毒。然后，将使用定量聚合酶链式反应检测选定新发现病毒的病毒载量、流行率和环境蓄积量。这项研究将向生物海洋学团体提供关于桡足类病毒多样性和流行率的新信息。增加对感染中浮游动物的病毒类型的了解将增加对海洋病毒多样性的了解，并提供关于缺乏约束的基因库的序列信息。该项目的长期目标是了解病毒对作为死亡媒介的浮游动物种群动态的影响，从而最终了解病毒感染如何影响海洋中的食物网相互作用和生物地球化学循环。确定桡足类中存在的病毒类型和这些病毒的流行率是确定病毒在浮游动物生态中的作用的关键第一步。这项研究的高风险和高回报使其成为迫切需要资金的理想人选。了解病毒在中游动物生态学中的作用将填补海洋生态系统动力学知识的一个重大空白，并有可能对海洋学产生变革。这项研究的更广泛影响将包括培训两名本科生和一名研究生。这项研究还将用于展示浮游生物和病毒生态学，作为女孩海洋夏令营的一部分，该夏令营旨在增加女性对科学和工程职业的参与。

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.