Cultivation and Genomics of a Giant Virus infecting the Cryptophyte Rhodomonas

Cryptophytes are among the most common protists in freshwater environments and are known to be associated with annual spring blooms. It has been recently proposed that giant viruses are an important factor in the collapse of the freshwater cryptophyte bloom. Despite the widespread distribution of cryptophytes and availability of cultures (e.g. the well-known cryptophytes Rhodomonas, Cryptomonas) for decades, no giant viruses have been isolated from any abundant cryptophyte. We report the isolation of a giant virus from a freshwater spring bloom of the cryptophyte Rhodomonas lacustris.