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Virovore
Virivore (equivalently virovore) comes from the English prefix ''viro-'' meaning virus, derived from the Latin word for poison, and the suffix ''-vore'' from the Latin word ''vorare'', meaning to eat, or to devour; therefore, a virivore is an organism that consumes viruses. Virivory is a well-described process in which organisms, primarily heterotrophic protists, but also some metazoans consume viruses. Viruses are considered a top predator in marine environments, as they can lyse microbes and release nutrients (i.e. Viral shunt, the viral shunt). Viruses also play an important role in the structuring of microbial trophic relationships and regulation of carbon flow. Discovery The first described virovore was a small marine flagellate that was shown to ingest and digest virus particles. Subsequently, numerous studies directly and indirectly demonstrated the consumption of virions. In 2022, DeLong et al. showed that over the course of two days the ciliates ''Halteria'' and ''Para ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Halteria
''Halteria'', sometimes referred to as the jumping oligotrich, is a genus of common planktonic ciliates that are found in many freshwater environments. ''Halteria'' are easy to locate due to their abundance and distinctive behaviour with observations of ''Halteria'' potentially dating back to the 17th century and the discovery of microorganisms. Over time more has been established about their morphology and behavior, which has led to many changes in terms of classification. Species of ''Halteria'' can exist in both a trophic and an encysted form but are most commonly described in the trophic form. Species of ''Halteria'' can be identified by their unique jumping movement which is enabled by an equatorial row of stiff cirri that beat in unison, allowing the organism to move very quickly backwards. Members of the genus ''Halteria'' are heterotrophic and serve as important bacterivores in the habitats they occupy as well as being preyed upon primarily by metazoans. One recent paper ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protist
A protist () is any eukaryotic organism (that is, an organism whose cells contain a cell nucleus) that is not an animal, plant, or fungus. While it is likely that protists share a common ancestor (the last eukaryotic common ancestor), the exclusion of other eukaryotes means that protists do not form a natural group, or clade. Therefore, some protists may be more closely related to animals, plants, or fungi than they are to other protists. However, like the groups ''algae'', ''invertebrates'', and '' protozoans'', the biological category ''protist'' is used for convenience. Others classify any unicellular eukaryotic microorganism as a protist. The study of protists is termed protistology. History The classification of a third kingdom separate from animals and plants was first proposed by John Hogg in 1860 as the kingdom Protoctista; in 1866 Ernst Haeckel also proposed a third kingdom Protista as "the kingdom of primitive forms". Originally these also included prokaryote ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Viral Sweep
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with nouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant sound, and as (homophone of the archaic p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oxyrrhis Marina
''Oxyrrhis marina'' is a species of dinoflagellates with flagella. A marine heterotroph, it is found in much of the world. Description This protozoan species has an asymmetrical oval shape to its single-celled body.Lowe, C. D., et al. (2011)Who is ''Oxyrrhis marina''? Morphological and phylogenetic studies on an unusual dinoflagellate.''Journal of Plankton Research'' 33(4) 555-67. It has been likened to a rugby ball.Lowe, C. D., et al. (2011)Collection, isolation and culturing strategies for ''Oxyrrhis marina''.''Journal of Plankton Research'' 33(4) 569-78. The cell usually measures between 20 and 30 micrometers, but it is known to reach 60. It has two flagella with a protruding, tentacle-like bulge between them. The flagella are covered in scales. Most individuals have scales on the body surface, as well. The two flagella have separate functions. One undulates in waves and the other is coiled, producing a corkscrew-like propulsion to move the cell. The individual appears colorle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Microbial Loop
The microbial loop describes a trophic pathway where, in aquatic systems, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is returned to higher trophic levels via its incorporation into bacterial biomass, and then coupled with the classic food chain formed by phytoplankton-zooplankton- nekton. In soil systems, the microbial loop refers to soil carbon. The term microbial loop was coined by Farooq Azam, Tom Fenchel et al. in 1983 to include the role played by bacteria in the carbon and nutrient cycles of the marine environment. In general, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is introduced into the ocean environment from bacterial lysis, the leakage or exudation of fixed carbon from phytoplankton (e.g., mucilaginous exopolymer from diatoms), sudden cell senescence, sloppy feeding by zooplankton, the excretion of waste products by aquatic animals, or the breakdown or dissolution of organic particles from terrestrial plants and soils. Bacteria in the microbial loop decompose this particulate detritus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acartia Tonsa
''Acartia tonsa'' is a species of marine copepod in the family Acartiidae. Distribution ''Acartia tonsa'' is a species of calanoid copepod that can be found in a large portion of the world's estuaries and areas of upwelling where food concentrations are high. Like many plankton common to estuarine ecosystems, they can live in a wide range of temperatures and salinities. The wide distribution of ''Acartia tonsa'' may be a result of these copepods being transported as ballast in ships. Their tolerance to changes in salinity has likely contributed to their success as an invasive species in some regions. Characteristics ''Acartia tonsa'' is translucent, and is usually between about in length in females, and from about in males. It " n be differentiated from closely related species by their long first antennae (at least half the length of their bodies) and biramous (branched) second antennae, as well as the presence of a joint between their fifth and sixth body segments". Ecology ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coccolithovirus
''Coccolithovirus'' is a genus of giant double-stranded DNA virus, in the family ''Phycodnaviridae''. Algae, specifically ''Emiliania huxleyi'', a species of coccolithophore, serve as natural hosts. There is only one described species in this genus: ''Emiliania huxleyi virus 86''. Structure Coccolithoviruses are enveloped, icosahedral and have a diameter ranging from 100–220 nm. Their genomes are linear, between 410–415kb in length and predict to encode for approximately 472 proteins. Life cycle Coccolithoviruses are part of the family of ''Phycodnaviridae'', one of the five families that belong to a large and phylogenetically diverse group of viruses known as nucleocytoplasmic large dsDNA viruses ( NCLDVs). These viruses either replicate exclusively in the cytoplasm of the host cell or start their life cycle in the host nucleus but complete it in the cytoplasm. In the case of EhV-86 the infection strategy is not fully understood but Mackinder et al. (2009) have prop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emiliania Huxleyi
''Emiliania huxleyi'' is a species of coccolithophore found in almost all ocean ecosystems from the equator to sub-polar regions, and from nutrient rich upwelling zones to nutrient poor oligotrophic waters. It is one of thousands of different photosynthetic plankton that freely drift in the euphotic zone of the ocean, forming the basis of virtually all marine food webs. It is studied for the extensive blooms it forms in nutrient-depleted waters after the reformation of the summer thermocline. Like other coccolithophores, ''E. huxleyi'' is a single-celled phytoplankton covered with uniquely ornamented calcite disks called coccoliths. Individual coccoliths are abundant in marine sediments although complete coccospheres are more unusual. In the case of ''E. huxleyi'', not only the shell, but also the soft part of the organism may be recorded in sediments. It produces a group of chemical compounds that are very resistant to decomposition. These chemical compounds, known as alkeno ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Copepod
Copepods (; meaning "oar-feet") are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat. Some species are planktonic (inhabiting sea waters), some are benthic (living on the ocean floor), a number of species have parasitic phases, and some continental species may live in limnoterrestrial habitats and other wet terrestrial places, such as swamps, under leaf fall in wet forests, bogs, springs, ephemeral ponds, and puddles, damp moss, or water-filled recesses (phytotelmata) of plants such as bromeliads and pitcher plants. Many live underground in marine and freshwater caves, sinkholes, or stream beds. Copepods are sometimes used as biodiversity indicators. As with other crustaceans, copepods have a larval form. For copepods, the egg hatches into a nauplius form, with a head and a tail but no true thorax or abdomen. The larva molts several times until it resembles the adult and then, after more molts, achieves adult development. The nauplius form is so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tetrahymena Pyriformis
''Tetrahymena pyriformis'' is a species of Ciliophora in the family Tetrahymenidae Tetrahymenidae is a family of ciliates. References Ciliate families Oligohymenophorea {{ciliate-stub .... It is one of the most commonly ciliated model used for laboratory research. The species is widely distributed. It lives in fresh water like springs, ditches, creeks, ponds, and lakes. References {{Ciliate-stub Oligohymenophorea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marine Viruses
Marine viruses are defined by their habitat as viruses that are found in marine environments, that is, in the saltwater of seas or oceans or the brackish water of coastal estuaries. Viruses are small infectious agents that can only replicate inside the living cells of a host organism, because they need the replication machinery of the host to do so. They can infect all types of life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Modified text was copied from this source, which is available under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 International License When not inside a cell or in the process of infecting a cell, viruses exist in the form of independent particles called '' virions''. A virion contains a genome (long molecules that carry genetic information in the form of either DNA or RNA) surrounded by a capsid (a protein coat protecting the genetic material). The shapes of these virus particles range from simple helical and ico ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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