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Recent studies showed changes in phytoplankton lipid composition during viral infection and have indicated roles for specific lipids in the mechanisms of algal virus-host interaction. To investigate the generality of these findings and obtain a better understanding of the allocation of specific lipids to viruses, we studied the intact polar lipid (IPL) composition of virally infected and non-infected cultures of the prymnesiophyte Phaeocystis globosa G(A) and its lytic virus PgV-07T. The P. globosa IPL composition was relatively stable over a diel cycle and not strongly affected by viral infection. Glycolipids, phospholipids and betaine lipids were present in both the host and virus, although specific groups such as the diacylglyceryl-hydroxymethyltrimethyl-ß-alanines and the sulfoquinovo-syldiacylglycerols, were present in a lower proportion or were not detected in the virus. Viral glycosphingolipids (vGSLs), which have been shown to play a role in the infection strategy of the virus EhV-86, infecting the prymnesiophyte Emiliania huxleyi CCMP374, were not encountered. Our results show that the involvement of lipids in virus-algal host interactions can be very different amongst virus-algal host systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]