A study on marine viruses and their implication for marine biogeochemical cycles by a group of UT- and NIMBioS-associated researchers holds promise for further understanding the 
quantitative role that marine viruses play in the storage and recycling of dissolved organic carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus. The study, published in the journal Nature Reviews Microbiology, used a biophysical scaling model of intact virus particles to quantify differences in the relationship between chemical substances of marine viruses compared with their microbial hosts. The researchers proposed that, under certain circumstances, marine virus populations could make a previously unrecognized and important contribution to the reservoir and cycling of oceanic phosphorus, an essential nutrient in the uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide.
To read more about the study, visit the NIMBioS website.