Plant Pathology Department
Date of this Version
2004
Abstract
Green algae, in surface layers of almost every lake or stream, are some of the most common aquatic creatures. However, unbeknownst to researchers until recently, viruses that infect algae are almost as widespread. Entire ecosystems of algal hosts and their corresponding viruses lay hidden until the 1980s, when James L. Van Etten, a professor of plant pathology at the University of Nebraska (Lincoln), and his colleague Russ Meints discovered and began to characterize the first member of what is now a rapidly expanding family of algal viruses. Van Etten and his colleagues have continued to study these intriguing viruses, focusing on those that infect Chlorella and other similar green algae. The chlorella viruses have many unusual properties, ranging from their large genome sizes to unique modifications in their DNA.
Comments
Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA April 13, 2004, vol. 101, no. 15, 5315–5317.www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.0401846101. Copyright 2004 National Academy of Sciences USA. Used by permission.