The life-cycle of the lytic prasinovirus OtV5 in its host alga Ostreococcus analyzed by RNA-Seq

Prasinoviruses are large double-stranded DNA viruses that are present in aquatic environments worldwide. They are known to attack numerous species of marine prasinophyte microalgae. The complete genome sequences for OtV5 and its host alga, Ostreococcus tauri, have been characterized. We have analyzed the transcriptomes of OtV5 and its host O. tauri in laboratory cultures growing in a diurnal light cycle during a time course of infection over 27 hours, by comparing samples of RNAs extracted at 12 time points from infected and healthy cells. These results provide new insights about the molecular mechanisms operating in viral pathogenicity and host responses.