Cell-to-cell heterogeneity drives host-virus coexistence in a bloom-forming alga

Nir Joffe, Constanze Kuhlisch, Guy Schleyer, Nadia S. Ahlers, Adva Shemi, Assaf Vardi

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Algal blooms drive global biogeochemical cycles of key nutrients and serve as hotspots for biological interactions in the ocean. The massive blooms of the cosmopolitan coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi are often infected by the lytic E. huxleyi virus, which is a major mortality agent triggering bloom demise. This multi-annual boom and bust pattern of E. huxleyi blooms suggests that coexistence is essential for these host-virus dynamics. To investigate host-virus coexistence, we developed a new model system from an E. huxleyi culture that recovered from viral infection. The recovered population coexists with the virus, as host cells continue to divide in parallel to viral production. By applying single-molecule fluorescence in situ hybridization (smFISH) to quantify the fraction of infected cells, and assessing infection-specific lipid biomarkers, we identified a small subpopulation of cells that were infected and produced new virions, whereas most of the host population could resist infection. To further assess population heterogeneity, we generated clonal strain collections using single-cell sorting and subsequently phenotyped their susceptibility to E. huxleyi virus infection. This unraveled substantial cell-to-cell heterogeneity across a continuum of susceptibility to resistance, highlighting that infection outcome may vary depending on the individual cell. These results add a new dimension to our understanding of the complexity of host- virus interactions that are commonly assessed in bulk and described by binary definitions of resistance or susceptibility. We propose that phenotypic heterogeneity drives the host-virus coexistence and demonstrate how the coexistence with a lytic virus provides an ecological advantage for the host by killing competing strains.

Original languageEnglish
Article numberwrae038
Number of pages14
JournalISME Journal
Volume18
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jan 2024

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Microbiology
  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

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