Viral abundance and processes in the water column and sediments are well studied for some systems; however, we know relatively little about virus-host interactions on particles and how particles influence these interactions. Here we review virus-prokaryote interactions on inorganic and organic particles in the water column. Profiting from recent methodological progress, we show that confocal laser scanning microscopy in combination with lectin and nucleic acid staining is one of the most powerful methods to visualize the distribution of viruses and their hosts on particles such as organic aggregates. Viral abundance on suspended matter ranges from 105 to 1011 ml-1. The main factors controlling viral abundance are the quality, size and age of aggregates and the exposure time of viruses to aggregates. Other factors such as water residence time likely act indirectly. Overall, aggregates appear to play a role of viral scavengers or reservoirs rather than viral factories. Adsorption of viruses to organic aggregates or inorganic particles can stimulate growth of the free-living prokaryotic community, e.g. by reducing viral lysis. Such mechanisms can affect microbial diversity, food web structure and biogeochemical cycles. Viral lysis of bacterio- and phytoplankton influences the formation and fate of aggregates and can, for example, result in a higher stability of algal flocs. Thus, viruses also influence carbon export; however, it is still not clear whether they short-circuit or prime the biological pump. Throughout this review, emphasis has been placed on defining general problems and knowledge gaps in virus-particle interactions and on providing avenues for further research, particularly those linked to global change.

中文翻译：

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水生系统中有机和无机颗粒的病毒生态学：进一步研究的途径

对于某些系统，对水柱和沉积物中的病毒丰度和过程进行了深入研究；然而，我们对病毒与宿主的粒子相互作用以及粒子如何影响这些相互作用知之甚少。在这里，我们回顾了病毒-原核生物对水柱中无机和有机颗粒的相互作用。得益于最近的方法学进展，我们表明，共聚焦激光扫描显微镜与凝集素和核酸染色相结合是可视化病毒及其宿主在有机聚集体等颗粒上的分布的最有效方法之一。悬浮物上的病毒丰度范围为 105 至 1011 ml-1。控制病毒丰度的主要因素是聚集体的质量、大小和年龄以及病毒暴露于聚集体的时间。水停留时间等其他因素可能会间接起作用。总体而言，聚集体似乎扮演着病毒清除者或储存库的角色，而不是病毒工厂。病毒吸附到有机聚集体或无机颗粒上可以刺激自由生活的原核生物群落的生长，例如通过减少病毒裂解。这些机制会影响微生物多样性、食物网结构和生物地球化学循环。细菌和浮游植物的病毒裂解会影响聚集体的形成和命运，例如，可以提高藻类絮凝物的稳定性。因此，病毒也会影响碳输出；然而，目前尚不清楚它们是使生物泵短路还是启动。在整个审查过程中，