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SUMMARY:Plenary Lecture 4: Modeling Ocean Viruses: From Infections to Ecos
 ystems - Weitz\, J (Georgia Institute of Technology)
DTSTART:20141030T115500Z
DTEND:20141030T123000Z
UID:TALK55808@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Mustapha Amrani
DESCRIPTION:Viruses are ubiquitous in the marine environment and can infec
 t and lyse target cells. Lysis of marine host cells releases cellular debr
 is. This debris can then be taken up by non-targeted cells\, stimulating m
 icrobial production. This redirection of cellular biomass by viruses is te
 rmed the "viral shunt". Quantitative estimates of the strength of the vira
 l shunt\, first established in the late 1990s\, were inferred from estimat
 es of host and viral density\, host carbon content\, and viral lysis rates
 . Yet\, these and subsequent estimates provide limited information on pote
 ntial dynamic drivers and the likelihood of the viral shunt to cause other
  feedbacks. Here\, I offer two recent perspectives on the viral shunt. Fir
 st\, I present an ab-initio model of the carbon and nutrient content of vi
 rus particles. In doing so\, I show how the elemental stoihcoimetry of vir
 us particles differs from that of microbial host cells. The consequences o
 f this difference include both changes in the expected release of elements
  in the viral shunt as well as the potential reservoir of elements in viru
 s particles. Second\, I present a new model of a microbial community that 
 incorporates virus-host interactions and the viral shunt. I show how virus
  presence in the environment may stimulate certain ecosystem-scale functio
 ns\, including increased recycling of organic matter and gross primary pro
 ductivity. I close with a brief discussion of ongoing challenges of transl
 ating and testing these results in the field. \n
LOCATION:Seminar Room 1\, Newton Institute
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