UDAI PRATAP COLLEGE

VARANASI

TOPIC-PYCOVIRUSES

Submitted to - Dr. Arvind Pratap Singh

Submitted by – KARM CHANDRA NATH
M.Sc. 1st
semester
 CONTENTS
 Phycovirus (Definition & Introduction)
 Discovery of Phycoviruses
 Summary of known Phycoviruses
 Distribution of Phycoviruses
 Phycovirus: Infection Cycle
 Phycovirus- Algal interaction
 Environmental factors affecting Phycovirus- Algal interraction
 Genetic Diversity of Phycoviruses
 Effects of Phycovirus on host Diversity
 Role & Use of Phycoviruses
 Significance of Phycoviruses
 PHYCOVIRUSES
 DEFINITION & GENERAL INTRODUCTION
 A virus that infect and replicates in algae.
 Viruses are the most common life forms in the
aquatic environment.
 They are known to be an abundant and dynamic
component in the aquatic microbial communities.
 They have been considered as a key component
of the aquatic ecosystem.
 They regulate the biomass production and species
composition of varied microorganisms and other
life forms like bacteria and phytoplankton.
 DISCOVERY OF
PHYCOVIRUSES
 First time isolation of a virus that
infected filamentous cyano-bacteria was
reported by Safferman & Morris.
 These viral agents have been previously
named as phycoviruses, algophages, and
blue-green algal viruses.
 These are also known as cyanophage
because of the close resemblance with
the term bacteriophage.
 Summary of known
Phycoviruses
 Phycoviruses have been isolated from most groups of marine algae.
 It is evident that phycoviruses of prokaryotes are primarily binal( tailed-contractile
and non-contractile with a polyhedral capsid), while those of higher levels are
icosohedral(polyhedral head lacking a tail).
 Phycoviruses of macro algae show greater diversity, and include rod-shaped(helical)
morphology.
 DISTRIBUTION OF
PHYCOVIRUSES
 There has been limited study of the
distribution of phycoviruses (as distinct
from bacterio-and cyanophages) in the
environment.
 The majority of phycovirus research has
used overlapping abundances (co-
occurance) of virus like particles and
microalgae, or isolation of phytoplankton
from natural communities and then
infection with seawater concentrates to
determine ambient distribution.
 PHYCOVIRUS:INFECTION
CYCLE
 There are three types of infection cycle among phycoviruses .
 A lytic virus reproduces rapidly after infecting a cell, causing
mortality of the hosts before it divides. This is common in
both cyanobacteria and eukaryotic micro and macroalgae.
 Lysogeny is an infection where the viral replication rate
matches the dividing rate of the host.
i. Viruses causing a lysogenic infection in
cyanobacteria(temperate phages) are induced by
environmental stimuli.
ii. Viruses causing a lysogenic (latent) infection in eukaryotic
algae may use chloroplast, mitochondrial or nuclear genetic
systems.
iii. Lysogeny in eukaryotic algae is more complicate than in
prokaryotic algae.
PHYCOVIRUS-ALGAL INTERACTION
(DEVELOPMENT OF PHAGES)
Nucleic acid of a phage contains only a small number
of the genes needed for the synthesis of new viruses.
It’s structural components such as the capsid proteins
and the enzymes used in the phage life cycle.
The synthesized enzymes are entirely concerned with
replicating or processing nucleic acids and are
functional only when the phage within the host cell.
The two principle modes of multiplication of the
phages are the lytic cycle and the lysogenic cycle.
The phycoviruses show a very sharp resemblence to
bacteriophages in terms of morphological attributes and also the
life cycle pattern.
The lytic cycle ends with the lysis and death of the host cell.
 lytic cycle depends a lot upon the activity and the
effectiveness of the enzyme lysozyme, that is produced by
phycoviruses themselves.
In case of non production of lysozyme it has been seen that the
host respiration and metabolism are affected and may also be
ceased but it is quite sure that the process of lysis does not
occur in any case unless and untill induced.
The 5 distinct stages of the lytic cycle are- attachment,
penetration, biosynthesis,maturation,and release.
It has been reported that UV micromycin C and heavy metals
such as Cu, Cd, can induce the release of phycoviruses in
marine water.
 ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
AFFECTING PHYCOVIRUS-ALGAL
INTERRACTION
 Followings are the possible factors that may
affect the phycovirus –algal interactions :
I. Temperature
II. Solar radiation
III. Cation concentration
IV. pH
V. Salinity
VI. Depth
VII. Seasonal variations.
 GENETIC DIVERSITY OF
PHYCOVIRUSES
 Most viruses are species specific, therefore
changes in viroplankton diversity may reflect
changes in phyto and bacterioplankton
community diversity.
 The first study of phycovirus genetics reported at
least 18 distinct phycovirus populations in Gulf of
Mexico phytoplankton populations.
 This study used algal specific polymerase chain
reaction primers to sequence DNA polymerase genes
in marine viruses concentrated from sea water.
 EFFECTS OF PHYCOVIRUS
ON HOST DIVERSITY
 The effects of phycovirus infection on host genetic diversity is poorly
understood.
 It has been suggested that viruses mediate transformation of unicellular
heterotrophic and photosynthetic bacteria , hence increasing their genetic
diversity .
 The high species diversity of phytoplankton in areas of low nutrient
availability has been argued to be due to transformation by phycoviruses
(Fuhrman,1999).
 It has been observed that some divisions of algae have more phycoviruses
than others. In a mixed community infection of one species may favour
another species by the release of lysis products (Gobler et al.,1997).
 ROLE OF PHYCOVIRUS IN WATER
QUALITY AND ECOSYSTEM HEALTH
MANAGEMENT
ANTI-VIRAL COMPOUNDS ISOLATED FROM ALGAE
 The isolation and characterisation of sulphated polysaccharides
shown to have strong antiviral effects is an area of promising
phycovirus research.
 Achondrin, dermatan sulphate, heparin,hyaluronic acid, pentosan
sulphate, k-carragenan, chitin and glucosamin-6-sulphate.
 The most common of these compounds , the carragenans, have
been shown to reduce the infectivity of human health degrading
viruses such as Herpes simplex and the human immunodeficiency
virus.
 Antiviral compounds isolated from algae include.
 USE OF PHYCOVIRUSES FOR
CONTROLLING ALGAL BLOOMS
 The identification of viruses capable of
lysing algal blooms, particularly those of
nuisance or harmful algal bloom species
have attracted recent interest.
 The discovery of phycoviruses specific to
Aureococcus anophagefferens, which
causes brown tides and Heterosigma
akashiwo which causes red tides
recommend the further study of
 USE OF PHYCOVIRUSES IN
WATER QUALITY MONITORING
 Monitoring of marine viruses(including
bacteriophages) are presently incorporated
into a handful of water quality monitoring
strategies.
 Theuse of phycoviruses in water quality
monitoring, for example for the remote
detection of harmful algal blooms, or for the
detection of temperate phages causing toxin
production cyanobacteria remain potentially
useful areas for future research.
Thank you !