Revisiting giant virus-host dynamics in brown algae: old stories and new perspectives

The recent discovery of widespread giant virus sequences integrated into the genomes of diverse eukaryotes, and in particular marine lineages, has reignited interest in the molecular mechanisms underlying giant virus-host interactions. The brown alga Ectocarpus represents a compelling and historically rich model for such studies. As early as the 1970s, it was used to investigate latent infections by giant double-stranded DNA viruses, with elegant classical genetics and electron microscopy approaches revealing key aspects of virus-host life cycle coordination. However, progress was limited by the lack of molecular and genomic tools. In this review, we revisit these foundational studies through the lens of recent technological advances, including the development of genetic and genomic resources for brown algae. These tools now enable mechanistic insights into giant viral integration, latency, activation and host response. We highlight how Ectocarpus and related systems can illuminate both the evolutionary and ecological dimensions of virus-host dynamics, with a particular emphasis on the molecular and genetic mechanisms that mediate these complex interactions.