A group of St. Petersburg-based University of South Florida researchers recently made history as the first to identify viruses in red tide blooms.

Scientists believe the findings of the groundbreaking study could help them predict and mitigate red tide. While naturally occurring, extreme blooms decimate coastal economies, kill marine life and cause respiratory issues for humans.

Researchers at the College of Marine Science tested water samples collected along and off the Southwest Florida coast. They found several viruses — including a new viral species — present in Karenia brevis, the single-celled organism that causes red tide blooms.

“Because viruses are so specific, and they only infect things they normally infect, we could possibly use them as a tool to kill off the Karenia brevis cells in a bloom,” study co-author Makenzie Kerr told the St. Pete Catalyst.

“We were not surprised to find viruses. We were just surprised nobody has ever done it before.”

Viruses are present in nearly every living organism on Earth. Kerr, who’s lab manager and outreach coordinator at the Dr. Mya Breitbart Lab, noted that “people use viruses as health tools all the time.”

Kerr said the viruses found in red tide should only infect that phytoplankton species and pose no threat to marine life or humans. K. brevis harms ecosystems, economies and human lungs by emitting neurotoxins.

Red tide is a complex problem that scientists do not fully understand. Environmental factors, like nutrient concentration, temperature, ocean circulation and salinity, influence blooms.

However, forecasting when and where red tide will start, peak and end remains a significant challenge. Kerr said knowing “all the different players is important when creating models.”

Current monitoring efforts rely on satellite imagery of surface chlorophyll concentrations, glider observations of subsurface distributions and old-fashioned field sampling.

A high concentration of viruses could indicate that a bloom will soon form or has recently succumbed to the infection. “If their host is dead, there might be a lot more of them around,” Kerr said. “There’s still a lot more to be done to figure that out.”

Since viruses target specific organisms, they could provide an environmentally friendly way to manage blooms. Kerr said scientists would give red tide more of an isolated virus to kill the K. breviscells.

While red tide can have severe consequences, Kerr noted, “it takes a lot of tools and effort to study anything.” Funding is also an ongoing hurdle.

“Our lab studies viruses and bacteria all the time, and we have red tide as an issue,” Kerr said. “We want to explore more of that — and we go for it because we have the tools to do it.”

The study, recently published in the American Society for Microbiology’s journal mSphere, highlights the wealth of marine research resources concentrated along Bayboro Harbor in St. Petersburg’s Innovation District.

The local research team, led by Jean Lim, the study’s first author, used a process known as metagenomics to extract genetic material from water samples and identify viruses present in those containing red tide. Breitbart, a distinguished university professor at the College of Marine Science and senior author of the study, pioneered the method over 20 years ago.

Experts at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Research Institute, which neighbors the College of Marine Science, collected the samples and assisted the USF team.

“Not every lab has that capability, and they might not be as interested if it doesn’t affect them,” Kerr said of the red tide research.

The researchers will now “play around in the lab” and discern how specific viral loads affect K. brevis. Kerr said the next steps are “the most surprising part.”

They will also attempt to grow the virus in the local lab. Kerr noted they would continue looking for additional viruses associated with red tide blooms.

She said using the virus to kill K. brevis and mitigate marine and respiratory impacts is an ambitious — and likely protracted — endeavor. “But that’s what we’re reaching for.”

“There’s a lot of moving pieces,” Kerr added. “And it’s cool to see that type of collaboration happening in our community.”

For now, she encourages residents to avoid using fertilizer, which contains harmful nutrients that fuel red tide blooms via stormwater runoff, in the summer. Kerr also defended other forms of phytoplankton (primarily microscopic algae) that provide about half of the Earth’s oxygen.

“It’s not just bad,” she said. “There’s a lot of good guys.”

This content provided in partnership with stpetecatalyst.com.