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Updated: Sep 10, 2025

Inoculation Strategies to Infect Plant Roots with Soil-Borne Microorganisms

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Published on: March 1, 2022

Soil Virus Life-Strategy Conversion and Implications for Ecosystem and Soil Functions.

Di Tong^1,2, Bin Ma^1,2, Lingfei Hu^1,2

¹State Key Laboratory of Soil Pollution Control and Safety, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.

Global Change Biology

|August 26, 2025

Summary

Soil viruses

Keywords:

environmental thresholds one health soil functions soil nutrient cycling soil virus viral life strategy conversion

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Soil Lysimeter Excavation for Coupled Hydrological, Geochemical, and Microbiological Investigations

Soil Lysimeter Excavation for Coupled Hydrological, Geochemical, and Microbiological Investigations

Published on: September 11, 2016

Area of Science:

Soil microbiology
Environmental virology
Ecosystem functions

Background:

Viral abundance and life state influence soil microbial metabolism and functions.
The drivers of viral life cycle (lytic vs. lysogenic) and their impact on soil functions are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the distribution and drivers of soil viral properties.
To summarize mechanisms regulating viral life cycle transitions.
To propose a framework for viral life strategy transitions and their ecosystem impacts.

Main Methods:

Construction of a soil virus abundance dataset (691 samples) with a lysogenic fraction index.
Assessment of viral properties against 21 soil physicochemical indicators.
Systematic review of molecular mechanisms for viral lysis-lysogenic transformations.

Main Results:

Identified key drivers of soil viral properties.
Proposed a conceptual framework for viral life strategy transitions based on environmental stress.
Highlighted the roles of viral shuttle and virovory in carbon sequestration and One Health.

Conclusions:

Soil viral life strategies are dynamic and influenced by environmental stress.
Viral shuttle and virovory mechanisms are critical for soil ecosystem functions.
Further research is needed to understand soil virology's impact on functions, especially under climate change.