title: Discovery, Prevalence, and Persistence of Novel Circular Single-Stranded DNA Viruses in the Ctenophores Mnemiopsis leidyi and Beroe ovata.
abstract: Gelatinous zooplankton, such as ctenophores and jellyfish, are important components of marine and brackish ecosystems and play critical roles in aquatic biogeochemistry. As voracious predators of plankton, ctenophores have key positions in aquatic food webs and are often successful invaders when introduced to new areas. Gelatinous zooplankton have strong impacts on ecosystem services, particularly in coastal environments. However, little is known about the factors responsible for regulating population dynamics of gelatinous organisms, including biological interactions that may contribute to bloom demise. Ctenophores are known to contain specific bacterial communities and a variety of invertebrate parasites and symbionts; however, no previous studies have examined the presence of viruses in these organisms. Building upon recent studies demonstrating a diversity of single-stranded DNA viruses that encode a replication initiator protein (Rep) in aquatic invertebrates, this study explored the presence of circular, Rep-encoding single-stranded DNA (CRESS-DNA) viruses in the ctenophores Mnemiopsis leidyi and Beroe ovata collected from the Skidaway River Estuary and Savannah River in Georgia, USA. Using rolling circle amplification followed by restriction enzyme digestion, this study provides the first evidence of viruses in ctenophores. Investigation of four CRESS-DNA viruses over an 8-month period using PCR demonstrated temporal trends in viral prevalence and indicated that some of the viruses may persist in ctenophore populations throughout the year. Although future work needs to examine the ecological roles of these ctenophore-associated viruses, this study indicates that viral infection may play a role in population dynamics of gelatinous zooplankton.
authors.affiliation: College of Marine Science, University of South Florida St. Petersburg St. Petersburg, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Mya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Breitbart
authors.affiliation: College of Marine Science, University of South Florida St. Petersburg St. Petersburg, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Bayleigh E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Benner
authors.affiliation: College of Marine Science, University of South Florida St. Petersburg St. Petersburg, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Parker E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Jernigan
authors.affiliation: College of Marine Science, University of South Florida St. Petersburg St. Petersburg, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Karyna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rosario
authors.affiliation: Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, University of Georgia Savannah, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Laura M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Birsa
authors.affiliation: College of Marine Science, University of South Florida St. Petersburg St. Petersburg, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Rachel C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Harbeitner
authors.affiliation: College of Marine Science, University of South Florida St. Petersburg St. Petersburg, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Sidney
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fulford
authors.affiliation: College of Marine Science, University of South Florida St. Petersburg St. Petersburg, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Carina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Graham
authors.affiliation: College of Marine Science, University of South Florida St. Petersburg St. Petersburg, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Walters
authors.affiliation: College of Marine Science, University of South Florida St. Petersburg St. Petersburg, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Dawn B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Goldsmith
authors.affiliation: Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, University of GeorgiaSavannah, GA, USA; Department III, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB)Stechlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Stella A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Berger
authors.affiliation: Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, University of GeorgiaSavannah, GA, USA; Department III, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB)Stechlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Jens C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Nejstgaard
keywords: CRESS-DNA virus; circular DNA virus; ctenophore; gelatinous; marine; plankton; single-stranded DNA virus