Viruses in Antarctic lakes

• Published in: Limnology and Oceanography
• Main Authors: Kepner, Raymond L., Wharton, Robert A., Suttle, Curtis A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1998
• Subjects: Aquatic Science; Oceanography; Antarc*; Antarctic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.4319/lo.1998.43.7.1754; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.4319%2Flo.1998.43.7.1754; https://aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.4319/lo.1998.43.7.1754

Water samples collected from four perennially ice‐covered Antarctic lakes during the austral summer of 1996–1997 contained high densities of extracellular viruses. Many of these viruses were found to be morphologically similar to double‐stranded DNA viruses that are known to infect algae and protozoa. These constitute the first observations of viruses in perennially ice‐covered polar lakes. The abundance of planktonic viruses and data suggesting substantial production potential (relative to bacterial secondary and photosynthetic primary production) indicate that viral lysis may be a major factor in the regulation of microbial populations in these extreme environments. Furthermore, we suggest that Antarctic lakes may be a reservoir of previously undescribed viruses that possess novel biological and biochemical characteristics.