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About our work
Our group at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena in Germany investigates prokaryotic viruses and their hosts in aquatic and atmospheric ecosystems. Within aquatic systems, our research focuses on the surface microlayer, the upper 1 mm skin of the water surface. We are interested in the role of viruses in shaping microbial communities, how viruses and hosts adapt to extreme ecosystems and how they contribute to atmospheric processes. In aquatic ecosystems we explore how viruses and bacteria modulate biogeochemical cycles and have effects on gas exchange. |
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Research key words
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Recent group updates:
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Institutional address:
Friedrich Schiller University Jena Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science Institute of Computer Science Campus Inselplatz Inselplatz 5 07743 Jena Germany Room 4005 Phone: +49 (0)3641 946488 |
Lab address:
Leibniz Institute on Aging-Fritz Lipmann Institute e.V. (FLI) Beutenbergstraße 11 07745 Jena Germany FLI1, Lab: 2.060, Office: 2.015 Phone: +49 3641 65-6828 (lab) |
Aero-Aquatic Virus Research Group in December 2024.
Yeo Tze Ching (front left), Janina Rahlff (back left), Nick Eves (back right), Bingli Clark Chai (front right).
Ritam Das is missing!
Yeo Tze Ching (front left), Janina Rahlff (back left), Nick Eves (back right), Bingli Clark Chai (front right).
Ritam Das is missing!
Aero-Aquatic Virus Research Group in March 2024.
From left to right: Nick Eves, Janina Rahlff, Bingli Clark Chai, Ritam Das.
From left to right: Nick Eves, Janina Rahlff, Bingli Clark Chai, Ritam Das.
Latest publications
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In this study in Frontiers in Microbiology, led by Ritam, airborne viral communities in sub-Antarctic South Georgia showed clear spatial structuring, with most viral scaffolds detected at the coastal site, indicating a strong influence of location on viral diversity. Viral metagenomics revealed links to marine systems, as several airborne viruses were related to known marine viruses and carried protein homologs associated with photosynthesis and UV protection, suggesting oceanic input and potential roles in microbial resilience. Additionally, similarities to viruses infecting extremophiles point to adaptations to harsh environmental conditions, establishing a baseline for understanding airborne viral ecology in remote regions.
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Clouds are transient aqueous environments in the atmosphere that host diverse and metabolically active microorganisms, yet the role of viruses in these systems remains largely unexplored. Despite harsh conditions, viruses may persist in clouds, remain infectious, and influence microbial interactions during atmospheric transport. Based on current knowledge in cloud microbiology, we estimate the global cloud virome to comprise approximately 10²¹ viral particles, with a small but ecologically meaningful fraction of cloud droplets permitting virus-bacterium interactions. In this review article in Current Research in Microbial Sciences we discuss the potential implications of these interactions and outline key directions for future research on the atmospheric virosphere.
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This study focused on viruses in Central Arctic aquatic ecosystems, analyzing samples from a melt pond and open water during the Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021. Findings revealed lower prokaryotic diversity in the melt pond, dominated by specific bacterial species, and a notable limitation in viral diversity compared to open water. Among the identified viral operational taxonomic units, many encoded auxiliary metabolic genes that could provide cryoprotection to hosts. The study highlights that the air-sea interface plays a significant role in viral distribution in the Central Arctic.
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A recent article in ISME Communications describes the establishment of distinctive viral-bacterial communities in the surface microlayer of a visible surface slick from the Baltic Sea. New lytic viruses for abundant Gammaproteobacteria were isolated from sea-surface microlayer within the slick. Slick-specific bacterial isolates showed different carbon usage profiles likely facilitating their co-existence in the particle-rich slick. Viral microdiversity was primarily associated with the particle-rich fraction in the first meter of the water column.
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A recent article in Nature Communcations shows the dispersal of viruses across the air-sea boundary to aerosols and rainwater. Virus particles become enriched in the sea-surface microlayer and sea foams and selective transfer of viruses from surface water into aerosols has been observed. Viruses detected in aerosol and rainwater featured a higher GC proportion in their genomes compared to marine viruses. Origin of air masses was related to presence of marine viruses and prokaryotes in rainwater.
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