A role for fungi as parasites in the black box of marine trophic interactions.

Abstract

The role of microbial parasites in aquatic environments remains under-investigated and likely under-estimated limiting our understanding of trophic interactions and biogeochemical cycles (Lefèvre et al., ; Worden et al., ). All natural interactions between microbes are difficult to capture and study but those occurring in the open ocean more so, because the scale and the complexity of the system makes repeat sampling a challenge. Lepère and colleagues, by combining a range of cell recovery and detection techniques, have identified parasitic interactions between putative fungi and eukaryotic algae (Lepère et al., ) allowing us to peer into the black box of microbial parasitism in the marine water column.