EAGER: Discovery of viruses infecting marine Copepoda

中浮游动物是海洋食物网的重要组成部分，它们是浮游植物的主要消费者，是包括商业上重要鱼类在内的高营养级捕食者的猎物，并通过粪便沉积介导碳从大气到海洋内部的转移。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表明，它们对从细菌到鲸鱼的所有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的感染上，特别是异养原核生物和真核浮游植物。尽管浮游动物具有重要的生态意义，但人们对病毒对数量最多的浮游动物群体——桡足类动物的影响几乎一无所知。本项目将利用宏基因组测序方法，在佛罗里达州坦帕湾（Tampa Bay）的一种优势类calanoid桡足动物Acartia tonsa中寻找新病毒。然后使用定量PCR检查选定的新鉴定病毒的病毒载量、流行率和环境储存库。本研究将为海洋生物学界提供有关桡足动物中病毒多样性和流行率的新信息。对感染中浮游动物的病毒类型的进一步了解将增加对海洋中病毒多样性的认识，并提供有关限制较差的基因库的序列信息。该项目的长期目标是了解病毒对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食物网的相互作用和海洋中的生物地球化学循环。确定桡足动物中存在的病毒类型和这些病毒的流行程度是确定病毒在浮游动物生态学中的作用的关键的第一步。这项研究的高风险和高回报使其成为迫切需要资助的理想候选人。了解病毒在中浮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主要空白，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养两名本科生和一名研究生。这项研究还将用于构建浮游生物和病毒生态学的演示，作为“女孩海洋学营”的一部分，该营旨在提高女性在科学和工程事业中的参与度。

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.