Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Research Highlight
  • Published:

Evolution

Timeline of the ancient mariners

Nature Reviews Microbiology volume 9, page 631 (2011)Cite this article

Subjects

Access through your institution
Buy or subscribe

a 7,000-year record of the population dynamics of ... Emiliania huxleyi and its viruses

The author PCR-amplified and sequenced DNA fragments encoding parts of the major capsid protein (MCP) and phosphoglycerate mutase (PGM) of E. huxleyi-infecting coccolithoviruses from sediments of the western Black Sea that had been deposited between 7,500 and 450 years ago. He found a total of 33 viral genotypes and studied their co-occurrence with 11 E. huxleyi genotypes that had been previously identified by sequencing DNA encoding mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) from the same sediment samples. DNA fragments were well preserved in the sediment record, as shown by a constant ratio between COI gene copy numbers and the concentration of E. huxleyi-specific recalcitrant lipid biomarkers. Most shifts in viral and host populations coincided with important environmental changes that affected salinity and nutrient availability, as previously determined by geochemical and palynological studies. Whereas some host and viral genotypes seemed to show limited persistence, others coexisted for long periods of time. For example, the host genotype COI-1 and the viral genotype MCP-20 PGM-2 coexisted for more than a century (495–640 years ago).

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Access through your institution

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

  1. Coolen, M. J. L. 7000 years of Emiliania huxleyi viruses in the Black Sea. Science 333, 451–452 (2011)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

FURTHER READING

  1. Suttle, C. A. Marine viruses — major players in the global ecosystem. Nature Rev. Microbiol. 5, 801–812 (2007)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Cesar Sanchez
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Sanchez, C. Timeline of the ancient mariners. Nat Rev Microbiol 9, 631 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrmicro2641

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrmicro2641

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing: Translational Research

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Translational Research newsletter — top stories in biotechnology, drug discovery and pharma.

Get what matters in translational research, free to your inbox weekly. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Translational Research