Physiological changes in response to temperature induced viral resistance in the coccolithophorid, Emiliania huxleyi (Prymnesiophyceae)

Coccolithophores like Emiliania huxleyi are responsible for a significant portion of the biogenic sulfur found in the atmosphere. Annual E. huxleyi blooms are large enough to affect the global cycling of carbon and sulfur and are known to be terminated by a large, host-specific dsDNA virus, Emiliania huxleyi virus (EhV). This interaction can be thought of as a driving force behind the biogeochemical impacts of E. huxleyi making it imperative to understand the effects of elevated temperature on E. huxleyi’s susceptibility to viral infection and its production of atmospherically important dimethylated sulfur species (DSS). We demonstrate that a 3°C increase in temperature induces viral resistance in three E. huxleyi strains and that successful viral infection increases production of DSS. We also examined the responses of polar lipids to viral resistance and elevated temperature in hopes of elucidating their potential roles in viral resistance. This could have strong implications for global biogeochemistry in a warming climate and for deciphering the particular mechanism(s) by which some E. huxleyi strains exhibit viral resistance.