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Besides being considered pathogens, viruses are important drivers of evolution and they can shape large ecological and biogeochemical processes, by influencing host fitness, population dynamics, and community structures. Moreover, they are simple systems that can be used and manipulated to be beneficial and useful for biotechnological applications. In this context, microalgae biotechnology is a growing field of research, which investigated the usage of photosynthetic microorganisms for the sustainable production of food, fuel, chemical, and pharmaceutical sectors. Viruses infecting microalgae have become important subject of ecological studies related to marine and aquatic environments only four decades ago when virus-like-particles associated with bloom-forming algae were discovered. These first findings have opened new questions on evolution and identity. To date, 63 viruses that infect eukaryotic microalgae have been isolated and cultured. In this short review we briefly summarize what is known about viruses infecting eukaryotic microalgae, and how acknowledging their importance can shape future research focussed not only on marine ecology and evolutionary biology but also on biotechnological applications related to microalgae cell factories.

There is a need for novel protein sources. Insects are a possible interesting source of protein. They are nutritious in terms of protein (40-75 g/100g dry weight) and minerals. Insect protein is of high quality and has a high digestibility (77-98%) and concentration of essential amino acids (46-96% of the nutritional profile). Also insect cells may be a promising novel source of protein. Choice of cell line, growth conditions and use of the baculovirus expression system opens up possibilities to engineer the nutritional value of the biomass. The technological limits as well as consumer acceptance of insect cell based food remains to be investigated.