Viruses of Aquatic Ecosystems

Dear Colleagues,

As biological entities of size between macromolecules and living cells, viruses are obligatory cellular parasites. Despite the difficulties of observing nanoscale particles and the lack of evolutionary tracers such as ribosomal RNA, viruses are considered to be the largest reservoirs of the uncharacterized genetic diversity of our planet. Omnipresent in aquatic ecosystems, some contain genes encoding biological functions, whose circulation makes host populations powerful vectors of genetic exchanges in the environment. Phages are abundant in aquatic ecosystems, generally more so than cellular microbes whose activity conditions their proliferation. Their role is essential in various processes structuring the dynamics of aquatic microbial biodiversity: cell mortality, biogeochemical cycles, horizontal gene transfer, etc. Viral studies are also sources of basic scientific questions cutting across environmental sciences, such as competitive exclusion, niche expansion, etc.

Indeed, recent advances in the study of viruses in aquatic ecosystems have given rise to a growing interest in the general context of environmental sciences, as sources of novel knowledge related to the biodiversity of living things, the functioning of ecosystems, the evolution of the cellular world, and the ecosystem services to the living beings, as well as to methodological innovations. This Special Issue is designed to provide an up-to-date view of all these processes and more, related to viruses and other nanoparticles in aquatic ecosystems.

Dr. Télesphore Sime-Ngando
Dr. Markus G. Weinbauer
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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