Morphology and distribution of phage-like particles in a eutrophic boreal lagoon

Abstract

In this paper we present the results of direct observations of the morphology and size of phage-like particles by means of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) as a function of their spatial distribution in the shallow highly productive Curonian Lagoon of the Baltic Sea. In total, 26 morphologically different forms of phage-like particles were found. Different trends of distribution in terms of abundance, size and shape of virus-like particles were demonstrated. The total abundance of viruses varied from 1.91×107 ml-1 to 5.06×107 ml-1. The virus to bacteria ratio (VBR) changed from 15.6 to 49 and was negatively associated with total bacterial numbers (r = -0.60; p Myoviridae were the most diverse and were dominant at all stations.

Keywords

• virus-like particles
• electron microscopy
• Curonian Lagoon