The spatiotemporal dynamics for marine viral populations has only recently been explored. However, nothing is known about temporal activities of the uncultured Pelagibacter virus vSAG 37-F6, which was discovered by single-virus genomics as potentially the most abundant marine virus. Here, we investigate the diel cycling of 37-F6 virus and the putative SAR11 host using coastal and oceanic transcriptomic and viromic time-series data from Osaka Bay and North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. Virus 37-F6 and relatives displayed diel cycling of transcriptional activities synchronized with its putative host. In both virus and host, the lowest transcription rates were observed at 14:00-15:00, coinciding roughly with maximum solar irradiance, while higher transcriptional rates were detected during the night/early morning and afternoon. Diel abundance of free viruses of 37-F6 in seawater roughly mirrored the transcriptional activities of both virus and host. In Osaka Bay, among viral relatives (genus level), virus 37-F6 specifically showed the highest ratio of transcriptional activity to virome abundance, a proxy for viral transcriptional activity relative to free viral particle abundance. This high ratio suggests high infection rate efficiencies in vSAG 37-F6 virus compared to viral relatives. Thus, time-series data revealed temporal transcript activities in one of the most abundant viruses in Earth.
© 2020 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.