LPP-1 Infection of the Blue-Green Alga Plectonema boryanum: I. Electron Microscopy

One-step growth and intracellular growth experiments were performed at high multiplicities of the virus LPP-1 during the infection of the blue-green alga Plectonema boryanum. The eclipse period lasts until 4 hr after infection, the latent period terminates at 6 hr, and the rise period continues until 14 to 16 hr after infection. The burst size was independent of multiplicity of infection over the ranges from 1 to 50. The burst size was 3,000 to 5,000 plaque-forming units (PFU) per infectious center or about 200 PFU per cell. Samples for electron microscopy were taken at characteristic times during the lytic cycle. The first sign of viral infection was the invagination of the photosynthetic lamellae at 3 hr after infection. Mature virions were visible at 4 hr. By 6 to 7 hr, many mature intracellular viral particles could be seen, with lysis beginning at 7 hr. By 10 hr after infection, all infected cells contained mature virions. No evidence for mass migration of performed viral precursors was obtained. The invagination of the lamellae could be prevented by the early addition of chloramphenicol, which implies that this process requires protein synthesis.