Abstract

AME Aquatic Microbial Ecology Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsSpecials AME 34:105-116 (2004) - doi:10.3354/ame034105 Genetic diversity and population dynamics of cyanophage communities in the Chesapeake Bay Kui Wang, Feng Chen* Center of Marine Biotechnology, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, 701 East Pratt Street, Suite 266, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, USA *Corresponding author. Email: chenf@umbi.umd.edu ABSTRACT: In order to understand the genetic diversity and population dynamics of cyanophages in estuarine waters, the viral capsid assembly (g20) gene was used as a gene marker to monitor genetic variations of natural cyanomyovirus communities in the Chesapeake Bay, USA. Unique and diverse g20 sequences were found. Only 1 of 15 g20 genotypes was closely related to the known cyanomyovirus isolates. Most of the g20 genotypes in the bay were not related to the g20 clonal sequences recovered from open-ocean waters. Terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) based on the g20 gene was developed to investigate spatial and temporal distribution of cyanomyovirus communities in the bay. The T-RFLP profiles of the g20 gene demonstrated that the cyanomyovirus population structures in the bay were more dynamic seasonally than spatially. Seasonal variation in the cyanophage community appeared to correspond to changes in host-cell density, which in turn was mainly affected by water temperature. This study represents the first effort to monitor both cyanophage titer and genetic diversity over time and space. The results of our study suggest that cyanophages could play a significant role in regulating Synechococcus biomass and population structure in the Chesapeake Bay. KEY WORDS: Cyanophage · Synechococcus · Natural virus community · Phylogenetic diversity · T-RFLP Full article in pdf format NextExport citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in AME Vol. 34, No. 2. Online publication date: February 04, 2004 Print ISSN: 0948-3055; Online ISSN: 1616-1564 Copyright © 2004 Inter-Research.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.