SPP 2330

GROUP MORARU / Project MO 3498/2-1

Impact of phage microdiversity on marine heterotrophic bacteria – a single cell perspective

Phage infections can have such dramatic effects on the host metabolism, that the infected cell becomes physiologically different from its not-infected counterparts. On the other hand side, phage and bacterial host populations are characterized by a high genetic microdiversity.

Here, we plan to address the virocell concept from the point of view of phage microdiversity and lytic infection phases, with a focus on marine heterotrophic bacteria and their phages, to enable a better understanding of the viral impact on marine microbial communities. Using a combination of single-cell methods and bulk measurements, we aim to answer the following questions: i) are there differences in the virocell metabolism through the various phases of the lytic infection?, ii) to which extent is the phage microdiversity resulting in differences in the virocell metabolism?, and iii) to which extent is the co-infection with multiple microdiverse phages resulting in differences in the virocell metabolism?

Principal Investigator(s)

Dr. Cristina Moraru
Department of The Biology of Geological Processes, Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM)
University of Oldenburg (UOL)
Carl-von-Ossietzky -Str. 9 -11, 26111 Oldenburg, Germany

Email: liliana.cristina.moraru@uol.de
Website: http://moraru-phage-lab.icbm.de/

 

Dr. Niculina Musat
Scientific Head of ProVIS – Centre for Chemical Microscopy Department of Isotope Biogeochemistry
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research GmbH – UFZ
Permoserstraße 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany

Email: niculina.musat@ufz.de
Website: https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=39666

 

PhD student(s)

TBA

Publications

  • Bischoff, V., Bunk, B., Meier-Kolthoff, J.P., Spröer, C., Poehlein, A., Dogs, M., Nguyen, M., Petersen, J., Daniel, R., Overmann, J., Göker, M., Simon, M., Brinkhoff T. and Moraru, C. (2019) Cobaviruses – a new globally distributed phage group infecting Rhodobacteraceae in marine ecosystems. The ISME Journal 13 (6), pp. 1404-1421.