INHERITANCE AND MEIOTIC ELIMINATION OF A VIRUS GENOME IN THE HOST ECTOCARPUS-SILICULOSUS (PHAEOPHYCEAE)

The marine brown alga Ectocarpus siliculosus (Dillwyn) Lyngbye is freq uently infected by a latent DNA virus that multiplies in modified spor angia and gametangia of the host. We describe a polymerase chain react ion (PCR) procedure for the amplification and detection of viral DNA i n Ectocarpus. PCR analysis of parents and progeny plants confirmed tha t virus DNA passes through meiosis like a Mendelian trait. An infected sporophyte produced equal numbers of gametophytes with and without th e viral genome. Thus, meiosis in sexual populations of the host acts a s a mechanism for the creation of virus-free progeny.