Isolation of a novel cyanophage infectious to the filamentous cyanobacterium Planktothrix agardhii (Cyanophyceae) from Lake Donghu, China

Abstract

A previously unknown cyanophage, PaV-LD (Planktothrix agardhii Virus isolated from Lake Donghu), which causes lysis of the bloom-forming filamentous cyanobacterium P. agardhii, was isolated from Lake Donghu, Wuhan, China. PaV-LD only lysed P. agardhii strains isolated from Lake Donghu and not those isolated from other lakes. The PaV-LD particle has an icosahedral, non-tailed structure, ca. 70 to 85 nm (mean ± SD = 76 ± 6 nm) in diameter. PaV-LD was stable at freezing temperature, but lost its infectivity at temperatures >50°C. Lysis of host cells was delayed about 3 d after the PaV-LD treatment with chloroform, and the virus was inactivated by exposure to low pH (≤4). The latent period and burst size of the PaV-LD were estimated to be 48 to 72 h and about 340 infectious units per cell, respectively. The regrowth cultures of surviving host filaments were not lysed by the PaV-LD suspension. To our knowledge, this is the first isolation and cultivation of a virus infectious to the filamentous bloom-forming cyanobacterium Planktothrix from a freshwater lake. © Inter-Research 2009.