INHERITANCE AND MEIOTIC ELIMINATION OF A VIRUS GENOME IN THE HOST <i>ECTOCARPUS SZLZCULOSUS</i> (PHAEOPHYCEAE)¹

Abstract

ABSTRACT The marine brown alga Ectocarpus siliculosus ( Dillwyn) Lyngbye is frequently infected by a latent DNA virus that multiplies in modified sporangia and gametangia of the host. We describe a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) procedure for the amplification and detection of viral DNA in Ectocarpus. PCR analysis of parents and progeny plants confirmed that virus DNA passes through meiosis like a Mendelian trait. An infected sporophyte produced equal numbers of gametophytes with and without the viral genome. Thus, meiosis in sexual populations of the host acts as a mechanism for the creation of virus‐free progeny .