Exploring the world of the virus

25-10-2011   A symposium on aquatic viruses will be held at NIOZ from 30 October to 3 November,. Almost all scientists worldwide working on viruses in both fresh and salt water will come together to discuss their latest findings. Viruses may often be associated with diseases, but they can play very beneficial roles as well.

Aquatic viruses have only been the subject of research for about 20 years, so it is a relatively new field of research. However, the number of scientists working on these viruses has increased considerably in the past few years.
 
The Aquatic Virus Workshop is held once every two or three years, this year’s workshop being the sixth. This time, approximately 85 scientists from all over the world will come together on the island of Texel. In over 50 papers and numerous poster presentations the latest findings will be discussed.

Climate Change
‘As these aquatic viruses have not been the subject of research for very long and as they seem to influence many essential biological processes, it is a very exciting world to explore,’ said NIOZ scientist Corina Brussaard, one of the organizers. ‘This field of research is very important, for the future, as well’. This is not just because of the influence these viruses exert on biodiversity (selective infection of host species and exchange of genes) and the evolution, but also because viruses affect the organic material flow (carbon, nitrogen, phosphate, iron).

When the top layer of sea water gets warmer, the water does not mix so well anymore. A consequence of this is that the cycle of single-celled organisms starts playing a more important role in the sea environment and the activity of viruses stimulates the total production in the open ocean. At the same time, less biomass will reach higher trophic levels (such as fish and sea mammals). The aquatic viruses are thus playing an increasingly important role in the sea.

The symposium is supported by NIOZ, the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.