Isolation and physiological characterization of a novel virus infecting Stephanopyxis palmeriana (Bacillariophyta)

Kim, JinJoo; Yoon, Seok-Hyun; Choi, Tae-Jin; Kim, JinJoo; Yoon, Seok-Hyun; Choi, Tae-Jin

doi:2015.30.2.81

Algae > Volume 30(2); 2015 > Article

Algae 2015;30(2): 81-87. doi: https://doi.org/10.4490/algae.2015.30.2.81

Isolation and physiological characterization of a novel virus infecting Stephanopyxis palmeriana (Bacillariophyta)

JinJoo Kim¹, Seok-Hyun Yoon¹, Tae-Jin Choi²

¹Fishery and Ocean Information Division, National Fisheries Research & Development Institute, Busan 619-705, Korea
²Department of Microbiology, Pukyong National University, Busan 608-737, Korea

*Corresponding Author

Tae-Jin Choi, Tel: +82-51-629-5617, Fax: +82-51-629-5619,
Email: choitj@pknu.ac.kr

ABSTRACT

Recent studies have shown the importance of viruses as potential sources of plankton mortality, which affect primary production and biogeochemical functions of their hosts. Here, we report basic characteristics of a novel virus (Stephanopyxis palmeriana virus: SpalV) that causes lysis of a culture of the diatom S. palmeriana, which was isolated in Jaran Bay, Korea, in August 2008. SpalV is a round-shaped viral particle ~25-30 nm in diameter that propagates in its host’s cytoplasm. In addition, it shows species-specific infectivity among the tested diatom species. The burst size and latent period are estimated to be roughly 92 infectious units cell-1 and

Key words: algal virus; Bacillariophyceae; Stephanopyxis palmeriana