A single-cell perspective on host-virus dynamics in the ocean

Viral infections of marine microbes greatly impact ecological and biogeochemical processes. Typically, these host-virus interactions are studied at the population level using bulk transcriptomics, which presents a population-averaged perspective and masks diverse infection states. Recent advancements in single-cell technologies enable a simultaneous view of the virus and its host within a population and expose phenotypic heterogeneity during infection. We present a promising avenue for investigating marine viral ecology from a new single-cell perspective to reveal the viral life cycle and host antiviral strategies employed by rare resistant cells. Consequently, we can detect specific host-virus dynamics in the complex natural population, track the spread of infection across ecosystems, and study the ecological impact of marine viruses at an unprecedented resolution.