Sunday #Plankton #Factoid 🦐🦠

An important yet not well understood component of the plankton are #viruses. They are ubiquitous in all aquatic systems, infecting #zooplankton, #phytoplankton, #microbes & more. They are vital for carbon flux, algal bloom #lysis (cell death), which can lead to toxin release. As you might expect, because of their small size (often >60 nm) they are hard to sample and measure.
A story on the recently documented mirusvirus 🤓😏 here.
https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/microbiology/bizarre-never-before-seen-viruses-discovered-thriving-throughout-the-worlds-oceans