Viruses in corals: hidden drivers of coral bleaching and disease?
Patrick Buerger A B and Madeleine JH van Oppen B C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A CSIRO Land and Water, Clunies Ross Street, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
Email: patrick.buerger@csiro.au
B School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Vic. 3010, Australia
Email: madeleine.van@unimelb.edu.au
C Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB #3, Townsville, Qld 4810, Australia
Microbiology Australia 39(1) 9-12 https://doi.org/10.1071/MA18004
Published: 27 February 2018
Abstract
Marine viruses are the largest, but most poorly explored genetic reservoir on the planet. They occur ubiquitously in the ocean at an average density of 5–15 × 106 viruses per mL of seawater, which represents abundances an order of magnitude higher than those of bacteria. While viruses are known agents of a number of diseases in the marine environment, little is known about their beneficial function to corals. Herein, we briefly introduce the topic of viruses as potential drivers of coral bleaching and disease.
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