First cultured deep-sea Planctomycetes strain ZRK32 releases a phage that supports nitrogen metabolism

Researchers at the Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences cultured a novel deep-sea cold-seep Planctomycetes strain, ZRK32, which they propose to name Poriferisphaera heterotrophicis. Supplementing nitrate or ammonium induced it to release a bacteriophage chronically without host lysis, and the phage's auxiliary metabolic genes let ZRK32 and another marine bacterium metabolize nitrogen.