Figure 2.

Marine viruses simultaneously control two processes in the carbon cycle: (A) the viral shuttle and (B) the viral shunt. In the viral shuttle, viral lysis of phytoplankton cells produces sticky aggregates with negative buoyancy that enhance the biological carbon pump by sequestrating carbon in the deep ocean. In the viral shunt, viral lysis of cells has the opposite effect—it diverts the organic matter into a dissolved organic matter (DOM) pool that is rapidly and continuously recycled in the surface waters, preventing its sequestration or uptake by higher trophic levels. Adapted from [4]. Created in BioRender.com.