A study headed by researchers from Ohio State University in partnership with Genoscope (IBFJ) and published in the 16 May 2019 edition of Cell2 has increased the number of known oceanic viral populations from 16,000 to nearly 200,000.
These populations act particularly in the transport of carbons from the ocean's surface to its bed ("biological pump"). Thus, their identification is vital, as is understanding their functions, dynamics and roles within the oceanic ecosystem.
Carried out collaboratively with the countries bordering the Arctic Ocean, the work included samples collected by the schooner Tara during its 2013 circumnavigation of the Arctic ice pack, a region greatly affected by current climate change. DNA analyses enabled the documentation of viral populations. Data collection was extended as well to the earth's other oceans and to previously unexplored depths.
By developing new methods to sequence viral genomes within planktonic populations, the researchers were able to study genetic variations:
• between individuals within each viral population;
• between populations within each viral community;
• between communities over a number of world ocean environments, and furthermore the forces driving these variations.
The results of the study suggest that the Arctic Ocean is a "hot spot" for viral biodiversity, and in turn underline the importance of the Arctic regions—where climate change is wreaking havoc —for global biodiversity.
This study was supported particularly by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the National Science Foundation, the Investissements d’Avenir project Oceanomics and France Génomique.