Chemotaxis of Vibrio alginolyticus to control/phage-infected Synechococcus exudates from 2020-2021 (VIC project)

This data set summarises the chemotactic response of a model marine bacteria (Vibrio alginolyticus YM4 wild-type) to filtered exudates of the cyanobacteria Synechococcus sp WH8102. Two filtrate sets were collected, each spanning 6 time points (named T1 -> T6), with the initial assays split into 4 biological replicates (named A,B,C,D). The two treatments were:

1) A control treatment (named "Control", or shortened to "C")
2) A phage-infected treatment (named "Phage", or shortened to "P"), where host Synechococcus were infected with the T-4 like Myovirus S-SSM5, with data collected over the pre-lysis cycle.

These treatments are fully described in: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43705-022-00169-6. The filtrates were kept frozen at -80C in 1ml aliquots, and only thawed to room temperature immediately prior to experimental use.

For each time point (T1-6), and replicate (A-D), three sets of chemotaxis assays were collected: Phage vs ASW, Control vs ASW, Phage vs Control. (Each with three biological replicates with fresh cell suspensions, with three physical replicates per sample, totaling nine samples at each time point/sample replicate). The chemotactic preference of Vibrio alginolyticus was measured by analyzing the cell distribution over time, and comparing the cell populations on opposite sides of the channel. Upon completion of the assays, the data shows that the bacteria will preferentially chemotax towards the phage-infected cells, with the strongest response occurring immediately in the infection cycle (T1), contrary to the assumed belief that it is post-lysis behavior that drives microbial chemotaxis in the oceans.