Polysaccharides induce deep-sea Lentisphaerae strains to release chronic bacteriophages
Chong Wang,
Rikuan Zheng,
Tianhang Zhang,
Chaomin Sun
Affiliations
Chong Wang
CAS and Shandong Province Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology and Center of Deep Sea Research, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China; Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Qingdao Marine Science and Technology Center, Qingdao, China; Center of Ocean Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China
CAS and Shandong Province Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology and Center of Deep Sea Research, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China; Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Qingdao Marine Science and Technology Center, Qingdao, China; Center of Ocean Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China
Tianhang Zhang
CAS and Shandong Province Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology and Center of Deep Sea Research, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China; Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Qingdao Marine Science and Technology Center, Qingdao, China; Center of Ocean Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China; College of Earth Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
CAS and Shandong Province Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology and Center of Deep Sea Research, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China; Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Qingdao Marine Science and Technology Center, Qingdao, China; Center of Ocean Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China; College of Earth Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Viruses are ubiquitous in nature and play key roles in various ecosystems. Notably, some viruses (e.g. bacteriophage) exhibit alternative life cycles, such as chronic infections without cell lysis. However, the impact of chronic infections and their interactions with the host organisms remains largely unknown. Here, we found for the first time that polysaccharides induced the production of multiple temperate phages infecting two deep-sea Lentisphaerae strains (WC36 and zth2). Through physiological assays, genomic analysis, and transcriptomics assays, we found these bacteriophages were released via a chronic style without host cell lysis, which might reprogram host polysaccharide metabolism through the potential auxiliary metabolic genes. The findings presented here, together with recent discoveries made on the reprogramming of host energy-generating metabolisms by chronic bacteriophages, shed light on the poorly explored marine virus–host interaction and bring us closer to understanding the potential role of chronic viruses in marine ecosystems.
