Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences

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William H. Wilson

Senior Research Scientist

Education

Research Interests

Dr Wilson is a virus ecologist who moved to Bigelow from Plymouth Marine Laboratory (UK) in January 2007. His research focuses on understanding the role of viruses in the ocean. With between 1-million to 100-million per teaspoon of seawater, viruses are the most abundant entities in the ocean. Virus action clearly goes beyond the simple infect-replicate-kill cycle. Dr Wilson utilizes a range of molecular tools and post-genomic technologies to investigate the many roles of viruses in marine ecosystems. Current projects include: giant viruses that infect Emiliania huxleyi (a globally important coccolithophore); virus-encoded sphingolipids; coral viruses causing bleaching; virus biogeochemistry; viruses of picoeukaryotes; latent phytoplankton infections and phage therapy. Dr Wilson's research has contributed to over 60 publications in internationally renowned journals.

Selected Publications

• Allen, M.J., Howard, J.A., Lilley, K.S., and Wilson, W.H. (2008) Proteomic analysis of the EhV-86 virion. Proteome Science 6: 11.
• Kimmance, S.A., Wilson, W.H. & Archer, S.D. (2007) Modified dilution technique to estimate viral versus grazing mortality of phytoplankton: limitations associated with method sensitivity in natural waters. Aquatic Microbial Ecology, 49(3), 207-222.
• Lohr, J., Munn, C.B. & Wilson, W.H. (2007) Characterisation of a Latent Virus-like Infection of Symbiotic Zooxanthellae. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 73:2976-2981.
• Allen M., Martinez Martinez J., Schroeder D.S., Somerfield P.J., Wilson W.H., (2007) Use of microarrays to assess viral diversity: from genotype to phenotype. Environmental Microbiology, 9:971-982
• Martinez, J.M., Schroeder, D.C., Larsen, A., Bratbak, G. & Wilson, W.H., (2007) Molecular Dynamics of Emiliania huxleyi and Cooccurring Viruses during Two Separate Mesocosm Studies. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 73(2), 554-562.
• Evans, C., Kadner, S.V., Darroch, L.J. Wilson, W.H., Liss, P. & Malin, G. (2007) The relative significance of viral lysis and microzooplankton grazing as pathways of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) cleavage: An Emiliania huxleyi culture study. Limnology and Oceanography. 52:1036-1045.
• Han G., Gable K., Yan L., Allen M., Wilson W.H., Moitra M., Harmon J.M., Dunn T.M., (2006) Expression of a Novel Marine Viral Single-Chain Serine Palmitoyltransferase. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 281, 39935-39942
• Allen, M.J., Forster, T., Schroeder, D.C., Hall, M., Roy, D., Ghazal, P. & Wilson, W.H., (2006) Locus-Specific Gene Expression Pattern Suggests a Unique Propagation Strategy for a Giant Algal Virus. Journal of Virology, 80(15), 7699-7705.
• Evans, C., Malin, G., Wilson, W.H. & Liss, P. (2006) Infectious titres of Emiliania huxleyi virus 86 are reduced by exposure to millimolar dimethyl sulphide and acrylic acid. Limnology and Oceanography, 51(5), 2468-2471.
• Wilson, W.H., Schroeder, D.C., Allen, M.J., Holden, M.T.G., Parkhill, J., Barrell, B.G., Churcher, C., Hamlin, N., Mungall, K., Norbertczak, H., Quail, M.A., Price, C., Rabbinowitsch, E., Walker, D., Craigon, M., Roy, D. & Ghazal, P., (2005) Complete Genome Sequence and Lytic Phase Transcription Profile of a Coccolithovirus. Science, 309(5737), 1090-1092.
• McClanahan, T.R., McLaughlin, S.M., Davy, J.E., Wilson, W.H., Peters, E.C., Price, K.L. & Maina, J. (2004) Observations of a new source of coral mortality along the Kenyan coast. Hydrobiologia 530/531: 469-479.
• Pearce, D.A. & Wilson, W.H. (2003) Viruses in Antarctic ecosystems. Antarctic Science 15 (3): 319-331.
• Wilson, W.H., Tarran, G.A., Schroeder, D., Cox, M., Oke, J. & Malin, G., (2002) Isolation of viruses responsible for the demise of an Emiliania huxleyi bloom in the English Channel. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK., 82, 369-377.
• Hambly, E., Tetart, F., Desplats, C., Wilson, W.H., Krisch, H.M. & Mann, N.H. (2001) A conserved genetic module that encodes the major virion components in both the coliphage T4 and the marine cyanophage S-PM2. Proceedings of the National Acadamy of Sciences 98: 11411-11416.
• Wilson, W.H. & Chapman, D.M. (2001) Observations of virus-like particles in thin sections of the plumose anemone, Metridium senile. Journal of the Marine Biological Association 81: 879-880
• Wilson, W.H., Lane, D., Pearce D. and Ellis-Evans, JC (2000) Transmission electron microscope analysis of viruses in the freshwater lakes of Signy Island, Antarctica. Polar Biology 23: 657-660.
• Scanlan, D.J. and Wilson, W.H. (1999) Application of molecular techniques to addressing the role of P as a key effector in marine ecosystems. Hydrobiologia, 401:149-175.
• Wilson W.H., Turner, S. and Mann, N.H. (1998) Population dynamics of phytoplankton and viruses in a phosphate limited mesocosm and their effect on DMSP and DMS production. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 46:(supp. A) 49-59.
• Wilson, W.H. and Mann, N.H. (1997) Lysogenic and lytic production in marine microbial communities. Aquatic Microbial Ecology 13:95-100.
• Wilson, W.H., Carr N.G. and Mann, N.H. (1996) The effect of phosphate status on the kinetics of cyanophage infection in the oceanic cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. WH7803. Journal of Phycology 32: 506-516.
• Wilson, W.H., Joint, I.R., Carr, N.G. and Mann, N.M. (1993) Isolation and molecular characterisation of five marine cyanophages propagated on Synechococcus sp. WH 7803. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 59: 3736-3743.
• Wilson, W.H., Newman, J., Mann, N.H. and Carr, N.G. (1991) Cloning and sequence analysis of the phycocyanin genes of the marine cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. WH 7803. Plant Molecular Biology 17: 931-933

Willie Wilson Laboratory