Skip Navigation
Skip to contents

Journal of Microbiology : Journal of Microbiology

OPEN ACCESS
SEARCH
Search
Advanced Search
mobile menu button

Articles

Page Path
HOME > J. Microbiol > Volume 46(3); 2008 > Article
Review
REVIEW] Dinoflagellates, Diatoms, and Their Viruses
Keizo Nagasaki
Journal of Microbiology 2008;46(3):235-243.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12275-008-0098-y
Published online: July 5, 2008
National Research Institute of Fisheries and Environment of Inland Sea, Fisheries Research Agency, Hiroshima 739-0452, Japan
Received: 13 March 2008   • Accepted: 20 March 2008
next
  • 62 Views
  • 0 Download
  • 96 Crossref
  • 114 Scopus
Full Article

Abstract

Since the first discovery of the very high virus abundance in marine environments, a number of researchers were fascinated with the world of “marine viruses”, which had previously been mostly overlooked in studies on marine ecosystems. In the present paper, the possible role of viruses infecting marine eukaryotic microalgae is enlightened, especially summarizing the most up-to-the-minute information of marine viruses infecting bloom-forming dinoflagellates and diatoms. To author’s knowledge, ~40 viruses infecting marine eukaryotic algae have been isolated and characterized to different extents. Among them, a double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) virus “HcV” and a single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) virus “HcRNAV” are the only dinoflagellate-infecting (lytic) viruses that were made into culture; their hosts are a bivalve-killing dinoflagellate Heterocapsa circularisquama. In this article, ecological relationship between H. circularisquama and its viruses is focused. On the other hand, several diatom-infecting viruses were recently isolated and partially characterized; among them, one is infectious to a pen-shaped bloom-forming diatom species Rhizosolenia setigera; some viruses are infectious to genus Chaetoceros which is one of the most abundant and diverse diatom group. Although the ecological relationships between diatoms and their viruses have not been sufficiently elucidated, viral infection is considered to be one of the significant factors affecting dynamics of diatoms in nature. Besides, both the dinoflagellate-infecting viruses and diatom-infecting viruses are so unique from the viewpoint of virus taxonomy; they are remarkably different from any other viruses ever reported. Studies on these viruses lead to an idea that ocean may be a treasury of novel viruses equipped with fascinating functions and ecological roles.

  • Cite this Article
    Cite this Article
    export Copy Download
    Close
    Download Citation
    Download a citation file in RIS format that can be imported by all major citation management software, including EndNote, ProCite, RefWorks, and Reference Manager.
    Format:
    • RIS — For EndNote, ProCite, RefWorks, and most other reference management software
    • BibTeX — For JabRef, BibDesk, and other BibTeX-specific software
    Include:
    • Citation for the content below
    REVIEW] Dinoflagellates, Diatoms, and Their Viruses
    J. Microbiol. 2008;46(3):235-243.   Published online July 5, 2008
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12275-008-0098-y
    Close
Related articles
Journal of Microbiology : Journal of Microbiology
© The Microbiological Society of Korea.
TOP