Virome DNA stable isotope probing reveals diverse active soil virus communities across ecosystem contexts.

Over 5,000 soil virus populations actively lyse microbes involved in carbon cycling, with activity levels varying significantly between agricultural and forest soils.

• Why it matters: Understanding active soil viruses is crucial because they influence microbial turnover and ecosystem processes, yet their diversity and activity patterns remain poorly characterized across different environments.
• What they did: Researchers used stable isotope probing with 13 C-labeled glucose to trace viral lysis of microbes, identifying active viruses across 197 microbial families in 28 prokaryotic phyla.
• The result: Findings reveal that viral activity is higher in C-limited agricultural soils and correlates with microbial growth potential, highlighting substrate-driven viral impacts on soil microbial dynamics.