Synergy in viral–bacterial co-infection expedites algal bloom demise

Abstract

Algal blooms are hotspots for diverse microbial interactions affecting bloom dynamics. Viral infections often regulate the demise of these blooms, recycling >25% of oceanic fixed carbon. Although these blooms collapse synchronously, only 10-30% of algal cells show active viral infection, suggesting additional mortality agents. Using microbial communities from natural coccolithophore blooms, we discovered that bacteria significantly enhanced virus-mediated algal mortality. We quantified this interaction using two novel metrics: the Synergy Index (SI) measuring viral-bacterial interaction strength, and the Benefit Index (BI) assessing changes in bacterial fitness. We identified Alteromonas bacteria as drivers of viral-bacterial coinfection, with consistently high SI and BI. In natural communities, Alteromonas exhibited chemoattraction towards infected algal cells, leading to their enrichment in bloom demise particles. This viral-bacterial synergy represents a previously unrecognized mortality agent controlling bloom termination, modulating the balance between the carbon-recycling viral shunt and the carbon-exporting viral shuttle pathways, likely influencing global carbon cycling.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Nature, 2026 · DOI ↗