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. 2025 Dec 6.
doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-67002-1. Online ahead of print.

Seasonal enhancement of the viral shunt catalyzes a subsurface oxygen maximum in the Sargasso Sea

Naomi E Gilbert #  1   2 , Daniel Muratore #  3   4 , Camelia Shopen Gochev  5 , Gary R LeCleir  1 , Shelby M Cagle  1 , Helena L Pound  1 , Christine L Sun  6 , Alfonso Carrillo  6 , Kimberley S Ndlovu  6 , Ilia Maidanik  5 , Ashley R Coenen  7 , Lauren Chittick  6 , Jennifer M DeBruyn  8 , Alison Buchan  1 , Debbie Lindell  5 , Matthew B Sullivan  6   9 , Joshua S Weitz  10   11   12 , Steven W Wilhelm  13
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Free article

Seasonal enhancement of the viral shunt catalyzes a subsurface oxygen maximum in the Sargasso Sea

Naomi E Gilbert et al. Nat Commun. .
Free article

Abstract

Subsurface oxygen maxima (SOMs) occur directly beneath the mixed layer of stratified water columns across oligotrophic open ocean basins and have been associated with physical transport processes and localized increases in phytoplankton net primary productivity (NPP). We explore the hypothesis that viral lysis (i.e., the 'viral shunt') increases nutrient recycling and enhances NPP, supporting SOM formation in stratified water columns, focusing on a recurring SOM at the Bermuda Atlantic Time Series (BATS) in the Sargasso Sea. Reanalysis of historical BATS data showed enhanced Prochlorococcus and virus-like particle abundances associated with SOMs. Instances of high rates of primary and secondary production observed with oxygen supersaturation further implicate a biological mechanism for SOM formation. Leveraging metatranscriptomes, metaviromes, and polony-based data collected during a Lagrangian cruise (October 2019), we link the viral shunt to SOMs, including evidence of elevated cyanophage abundance and infection of Prochlorococcus, and transcriptomic evidence of increased organic matter uptake (i.e., catabolic activity) by copiotrophic bacteria. Cruise data also showed Prochlorococcus nitrogen metabolism transcripts consistent with increased responsiveness to bacterial remineralization. These findings illustrate the biogeochemical impacts of enhanced viral lysis in marine systems, including the potential role of the viral shunt in facilitating SOM formation in the oligotrophic oceans.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

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