title: Isolation and Physiological Characterization of a Novel Algicidal Virus Infecting the Marine Diatom Skeletonema costatum.
abstract: Diatoms are a major component of the biological community, serving as the principal primary producers in the food web and sustaining oxygen levels in aquatic environments. Among marine planktonic diatoms, the cosmopolitan Skeletonema costatum is one of the most abundant and widespread species in the world's oceans. Here, we report the basic characteristics of a new diatom-infecting S. costatum virus (ScosV) isolated from Jaran Bay, Korea, in June 2008. ScosV is a polyhedral virus (45-50 nm in diameter) that propagates in the cytoplasm of host cells and causes lysis of S. costatum cultures. The infectivity of ScosV was determined to be strain- rather than species-specific, similar to other algal viruses. The burst size and latent period were roughly estimated at 90-250 infectious units/cell and <48 h, respectively.
authors.affiliation: Fishery and Ocean Information Division, National Fisheries Research & Development Institute, Busan 619-705, Korea.
authors.forename: JinJoo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Marine Bio-materials and Aquaculture, Pukyong National University, Busan 608-737, Korea.
authors.forename: Chang-Hoon
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Fishery and Ocean Information Division, National Fisheries Research & Development Institute, Busan 619-705, Korea.
authors.forename: Seok-Hyun
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Youn
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Pukyong National University, Busan 608-737, Korea.
authors.forename: Tae-Jin
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Choi
keywords: Skeletonema costatum; algal virus; diatom