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Viruses of eukaryotic algae have become an important research focus due to their role(s) in nutrient cycling and top-down control of algal blooms. Omics-based studies have identified a boon of genomic and transcriptional potential among theNucleocytoviricota, a phylum of large dsDNA viruses which have been shown to infect algal and non-algal eukaryotes. However, little is still understood regarding the infection cycle of these viruses, particularly in how they take over a metabolically active host and convert it into a virocell state. Of particular interest are the roles light and the diel cycle in virocell development. Yet despite such a large proportion ofNucleocytoviricotainfecting phototrophs, little work has been done to tie infection dynamics to the presence, and absence, of light. Here, we examine the role of the diel cycle on the physiological and transcriptional state of the pelagophyteAureococcus anophagefferenswhile undergoing infection byKratosvirus quantuckensestrain AaV. Our observations demonstrate how infection by the virus interrupts the diel growth and division of this cell strain, and that infection further complicates the system by enhancing export of cell biomass.