Estimated carbon/nitrogen/phosphorus (C/N/P) ratio

Range 17/5/1 carbon/nitrogen/phosphorus
Organism Paramecium bursaria Chlorella virus 1 (PBCV1)
Reference Jover LF, Effler TC, Buchan A, Wilhelm SW, Weitz JS. The elemental composition of virus particles: implications for marine biogeochemical cycles. Nat Rev Microbiol. 2014 Jul12(7):519-28. doi: 10.1038/nrmicro3289. p.520 left columnPubMed ID24931044
Primary Source [20] Clasen, J. L. & Elser, J. J. The effect of host Chlorella NC64A carbon: phosphorus ratio on the production of Paramecium bursaria Chlorella Virus 1. Freshw. Biol. 52, 112–122 (2008). DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2427.2006.01677.x link
Method Primary source summary: "1. [Investigators] used the freshwater alga Chlorella NC64A (Division Chlorophyta) and its virus Paramecium bursaria Chlorella virus-1 (PBCV-1) as a model system to test for potential stoichiometric constraints on a virus–host interaction. 2. Media phosphorus concentrations were manipulated to create Chlorella NC64A host cells with low (91 ± 23) or high (453 ± 246) C : P ratio. In contrast, the C : P ratio of PBCV-1, calculated from its biochemical composition, was 17 : 1."
Comments P.520 left column:"Virus particles do not require the same relative investment in carbon for structural integrity and other functions as their hosts, as they are predominantly composed of proteins and nucleic acids (although many eukaryotic viruses [ref 17] and a few bacteriophages [refs 18,19] contain lipids). Proteins are enriched in nitrogen and nucleic acids are enriched in both nitrogen and phosphorus compared with the typical contents of a microbial cell. Hence, it should be expected that virus particles are enriched in both nitrogen and phosphorus relative to carbon when compared with microorganisms. [Investigators] are aware of only one previous example in which the entire carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus content of a virus was enumerated: the elemental stoichiometry of Paramecium bursaria Chlorella virus 1 (PBCV1), which is a relatively large virus that infects the freshwater alga Chlorella NC64A, was estimated to be 17/5/1 (primary source). Calculating the elemental stoichiometry of PBCV1 was intended to test the consequences of stoichiometric differences between the virus and its algal host. However, neither the elemental content of virus particles nor the fraction of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) and dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP) that is partitioned in viral populations has been systematically studied so far."
Entered by Uri M
ID 112425