Viruses are the most abundant and diverse biological entities on the planet. There are about one million viruses per teaspoon of seawater, and 10 million viruses per gram of soil. Yet, most viral diversity is still unknown. A major standing question in the study on microbial communities is the contribution of bacteriophage (viruses that infect bacteria) infections to microbial diversity, metabolism, and community functions. Our goal is to understand, from molecular mechanisms to ecosystem outcomes, the interactions between phage and bacteria in coral-associated microbiomes.
Molecular drivers of phage-bacteria interactions Phages can establish different ecological relationships with the bacteria they infect, from predators to commensals. Our aim to understand the molecular drivers of these diverse interactions in marine microbial communities |
Phage-bacteria-coral symbiosisCorals live in symbiotic partnership with a milieu of bacteria and phage. The different phage replication strategies shape the microbiome of the coral host and modulate the interplay between commensal and pathogenic microbes. |
Phage-mediated coral diseaseLysogenic conversion of bacteria drives the emergence of human and animal pathogens. We are demonstrating that this process also happens in marine ecosystems, and is a threat for coral heath. |
NEWS
First PhD student in the Lab!Natascha Varona
is joining in the fall Natascha Varona will be joining the Silveira Lab in the fall semester as a PhD student in the Biology program. Natascha graduated with a B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from UC Davis, where she studied microbial consortia that contribute to coral health. She developed new approaches to cultivate diverse bacterial species from corals and her methods were published both as a traditional research paper and as a video protocol! Her achievements secured her a Maytag Fellowship from the University of Miami that will fund her research for three years. Congratulations, Natascha, we can't wait to see you in Miami!
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Collaborative study publishedMultiomic analysis of in situ coral–turf algal interactions
All plants and animals are associated with communities of viruses and microbes that interact via a suite of metabolites. These components play critical roles in the success of these assemblages. The study led by Ty Roach and Mark Little in collaboration with Dr. Silveira and other researchers investigated the role of holobiont components in coral–turf algal interactions. The data demonstrate that an emergent microbiome and metabolome form at the interface between coral and turf algae in competitive interactions. Machine learning analyses showed that this emergent community predicts the outcome of these interactions. These results provide insight into rules of community assembly in microbiomes and the roles of holobiont components in mediating ecological interactions.
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New PublicationCoral reef bacteriophages encode bacterial
virulence genes Together with colleagues at San Diego State University, Dr. Silveira performed a metaviromic analysis of coral reef viruses from the Southwest Atlantic, Central Pacific, and Hawaiian archipelago. The study, published on BMC Genomics, found that bacteriophages increasingly encode genes that enable bacteria to recognize animal hosts in degraded coral reefs. Theses findings indicate that phages may agents of bacterial pathogenicity that increasingly threaten corals globally.
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