Isolation of the phycodnavirus PBCV-1 by biological laser printing

Authors

Lisa A. Fitzgerald, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DCFollow
Peter K. Wu, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC
James Gurnon, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Justin C. Biffinger, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC
Bradley R. Ringeisen, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC
James L. Van Etten, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2010

Comments

Published in Journal of Virological Methods 2010 doi:10.1016/j.jviromet.2010.04.005

Abstract

The Phycodnaviridae family of viruses is diverse genetically but similar morphologically. These viruses infect eukaryotic algal hosts from both fresh and marine waters, and are an important component of aqueous environments. They play important roles in the dynamics of algal blooms, nutrient cycling, algal community structure, and possibly gene transfer between organisms. As such, it is important to identify new viruses within the Phycodnaviridae family. Biological laser printing (BioLP) was used to isolate single virus particles from solution. BioLP prints droplets containing a single virus particle directly onto a host medium, thereby enabling viruses to be isolated from unmodified samples. This manuscript demonstrates how BioLP can be used as a single-step method to separate and possibly identify viruses from complex environmental specimens.