Name: Jay Lennon

Email: lennonja@msu.edu

Author: Jay T Lennon

Author affiliation: Kellogg Biological Station, Michigan State University

Abstract title: Rapid evolution buffers the ecological impacts of viruses on microbial food webs

Absstract:

As obligate parasites, viruses are a significant source of microbial mortality that may influence marine ecosystem functioning. In addition, viruses act as a strong selective agent that can shape the evolutionary trajectory of host populations and alter microbial species dynamics. I will discuss long-term chemostat experiments that documented the ecological and evolutionary impacts of viruses on the marine phototroph, Synechococcus. Viruses had strong ecological effects on Synechococcus, but these changes were buffered via the rapid evolution of host resistance. These results suggest that we may need to incorporate eco-evolutionary dynamics into conceptual and theoretical models that seek to understand the role of viruses in marine microbial food webs.