Virus Succession Observed during an Emiliania huxleyi Bloom

Abstract

ABSTRACT Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis was used as a molecular tool to determine the diversity and to monitor population dynamics of viruses that infect the globally important coccolithophorid Emiliania huxleyi . We exploited variations in the major capsid protein gene from E. huxleyi -specific viruses to monitor their genetic diversity during an E. huxleyi bloom in a mesocosm experiment off western Norway. We reveal that, despite the presence of several virus genotypes at the start of an E. huxleyi bloom, only a few virus genotypes eventually go on to kill the bloom.