2023/10/10 by Janina Rahlff, Sarah P. Esser, Julia Plewka +7 · 1 voice
Environmental Science · #Bacteriophages and microbial interactions #Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology #Environmental DNA in Biodiversity Studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.1038/s41467-023-42125-5
openalex publication_date 2023/10/10 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04
Marine viruses in seawater have frequently been studied, yet their dispersal from neuston ecosystems at the air-sea interface towards the atmosphere remains a knowledge gap. Here, we show that 6.2% of the studied virus population were shared between air-sea interface ecosystems and rainwater. Virus enrichment in the 1-mm thin surface microlayer and sea foams happened selectively, and variant analysis proved virus transfer to aerosols collected at ~2 m height above sea level and rain. Viruses detected in rain and these aerosols showed a significantly higher percent G/C base content compared to marine viruses. CRISPR spacer matches of marine prokaryotes to foreign viruses from rainwater prove regular virus-host encounters at the air-sea interface. Our findings on aerosolization, adaptations, and dispersal support transmission of viruses along the natural water cycle.