Viral shunt

The flow of DOM and POM through the food web, with the location of the viral shunt pathway noted

The viral shunt is a mechanism that prevents marine microbial particulate organic matter (POM) from migrating up trophic levels by recycling them into dissolved organic matter (DOM), which can be readily taken up by microorganisms. The DOM recycled by the viral shunt pathway is comparable to the amount generated by the other main sources of marine DOM.[1]

Viruses can easily infect microorganisms in the microbial loop due to their relative abundance compared to microbes.[2][3] Prokaryotic and eukaryotic mortality contribute to carbon nutrient recycling through cell lysis. There is evidence as well of nitrogen (specifically ammonium) regeneration. This nutrient recycling helps stimulate microbial growth.[4] As much as 25% of the primary production from phytoplankton in the global oceans may be recycled within the microbial loop through the viral shunt.[5]

  1. ^ Robinson, Carol, and Nagappa Ramaiah. "Microbial heterotrophic metabolic rates constrain the microbial carbon pump." The American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2011.
  2. ^ Fuhrman, Jed A. (1999). "Marine viruses and their biogeochemical and ecological effects". Nature. 399 (6736): 541–548. Bibcode:1999Natur.399..541F. doi:10.1038/21119. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 10376593. S2CID 1260399.
  3. ^ Wigington, Charles H.; Sonderegger, Derek; Brussaard, Corina P. D.; Buchan, Alison; Finke, Jan F.; Fuhrman, Jed A.; Lennon, Jay T.; Middelboe, Mathias; Suttle, Curtis A.; Stock, Charles; Wilson, William H. (March 2016). "Re-examination of the relationship between marine virus and microbial cell abundances". Nature Microbiology. 1 (3): 15024. doi:10.1038/nmicrobiol.2015.24. ISSN 2058-5276. PMID 27572161. S2CID 52829633.
  4. ^ Tsai, An-Yi, Gwo-Ching Gong, and Yu-Wen Huang. "Importance of the Viral Shunt in Nitrogen Cycling in Synechococcus Spp. Growth in Subtropical Western Pacific Coastal Waters." Terrestrial, Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences25.6 (2014).
  5. ^ Wilhelm, Steven W.; Suttle, Curtis A. (1999). "Viruses and nutrient cycles in the sea: viruses play critical roles in the structure and function of aquatic food webs". BioScience. 49 (10): 781–788. doi:10.2307/1313569. JSTOR 1313569.