Turns out: We were right! ✅ When SAR11 cell division were highest, up to 19% of SAR11 cells were phage-infected (compared to <5% during low division rates). 3/n

But what are zombies?🧟‍♂️ In environmental samples and pure cultures, we detected phage-infected cells devoid of ribosomes. Zombies contributed up to >15% of total cell counts!😳 We visualized the ribosomes (CARD-FISH), DNA (DAPI), and phage genes (direct-geneFISH). 🔬 4/n