Viral control of Emiliania huxleyi blooms?

Virus and virus-like particles (VLP) have been observed in all major algal classes. Few host-virus systems of microalgae have until now been brought into culture and extensively studied. For Emiliania huxleyi we have been able to describe viral infection during blooms in mesocosms and in landlocked fjords. Evidence of viral lysis of E. huxleyi during blooms in the North Sea has also been obtained. We have also developed a plaque assay for E. huxleyi virus with which we have been able to isolate a virus that could be propagated in the laboratory. This virus isolate lost its virulence possibly due to defective interfering particles (DI). The sizes of viruses related to E. huxleyi indicate two major groups, one with a particle diameter of 180 nm and one with a head diameter of 140 nm.