Vol. 8, Issue 1, Part A (2026)

The vital contribution that viruses make in the regulation of the ecosystems especially their responses with the microbes is underestimated as compared to their recognized roles in the well being of humans and in agriculture. Viruses are ubiquitous elements of complex and dynamic microbial communities, which are essential elements in biogeochemical cycles, nutrient turnover as well as material exchange in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Micro-organisms maintain a high selective pressure on each other: virulent predators or the mobility of functional capabilities are subject to evolutionary and functional capacity. A review of literature that relates to the format and operation of virus-microbe interactions is thus relevant, particularly due to the emerging evidence that climate disturbance is shifting micro-bial richness and food web structure all over the planet.

Viruses are the most diverse, the most abundant, and widespread biological objects on the planet. They have enormous morpho-logical and genomic diversity and infect all cellular forms of life, such as archaea, bacteria, as well as eukaryotes. At present, 155 distinct classifications are known (with subfamilies, families, genera and subgenera being included), and metagenomics studies have shown that 99.7 percent of the viral diversity remains unidentified. The formation and consequences of the interaction between viruses and microbes are governed by several fundamental points, such as the chemical nature of the media, the biophysical and biochemical characteristics of the surfaces, and outer membranes of the microorganisms, and the native bacterial and eukaryotic communities. Research into the viral interactions with prokaryotic hosts can be used to identify more novel methods of controlling antimicrobial resistance and biofouling.