Giant Algal Viruses with The J Van Ettens

Giant viruses changed what biologists thought a virus could be. This week, I interview Dr. James Van Etten, whose lab discovered chloroviruses 45 years ago. These are "giant", DNA-based viruses that infect Chlorella-like green algae around the world. Chloroviruses are abundant in lakes, ponds, and rivers and are one of the most common virus groups in these environments, even though most people have never heard of them. The algae they infect live as symbionts inside ciliates and Hydras where protection from infection may be a driving force behind establishing these mutualistic symbiotic relationships. James' decades of work have revealed the enormous genomes and bizarre biology of giant viruses and helped establish them as a major, once-hidden branch of life's virosphere. Here is a (growing) list from Jim of over 500 publications on chloroviruses. James "Jim" Van Etten is a William B. Allington Distinguished Professor of Plant Pathology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where he started his lab in 1966, originally focusing on fungal biology. That early work eventually led him somewhere unexpected: in 1980, alongside colleague Russell Meints, he discovered chloroviruses-giant, algae-infecting viruses that would go on to reshape scientific understanding of just how large and complex a virus can be. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2003 in recognition of this body of work, and remains an active researcher in the field he helped create decades later. Now for the elephant in the room: are Jim and I related? You will have to listen to the end to find out!