Oxidative stress facilitates infection of the unicellular alga Haematococcus pluvialis by the fungus Paraphysoderma sedebokerense.

This study provides for the first time, a framework to dissect the functions of secondary metabolites in the interaction between the unicellular alga H. pluvialis and its fungal parasite, indicating that oxidative degradation is a strategy used for the fungal infest. Eliminating the oxidative burst through adding antioxidant BHA could be an effective measure to reduce parasitic infection in H. pluvialis mass culture.