Credit: Image courtesy of Wieczynski, D.J., et al., Viral infections likely mediate microbial controls on ecosystem responses to global warming. FEMS Microbiology Ecology, 99, 3 (2023).
Microorganisms affect the flow of energy and matter within ecosystems, but they are also subject to infection by viruses. Scientists do not fully understand how viral infections will alter ecosystem functioning in a rapidly warming world.