Pelagiphage-infected SAR11 cells without ribosomes ("zombie" cells) found across global oceans (Nature Communications)

Fluorescence in situ hybridization showed that up to 19% of SAR11 (Pelagibacterales) cells were phage-infected during a phytoplankton bloom, coinciding with a roughly 90% drop in SAR11 abundance within 5 days. A fraction of infected cells had no detectable ribosomes, which the authors dubbed zombie cells, and infected and zombie cells were detected in the Atlantic, Pacific and Southern Oceans.