Journal Article

Pandoraviruses: Amoeba Viruses with Genomes Up to 2.5 Mb Reaching That of Parasitic Eukaryotes

Philippe, Nadège, Lescot, Magali, Information génomique et structurale (IGS) ; Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Abergel, Chantal, Legendre, Matthieu, Garin, Jérome, Bertaux, Lionel, Poirot, Olivier, Couté, Yohann, ANR-10-INBS-0008,ProFI,Infrastructure Française de Protéomique, Laboratoire de Biologie à Grande Échelle (BGE - UMR S1038) ; Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Université Grenoble Alpes [2016-2019] (UGA [2016-2019])-Institut de Recherche Interdisciplinaire de Grenoble (IRIG) ; Direction de Recherche Fondamentale (CEA) (DRF (CEA)) ; Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Direction de Recherche Fondamentale (CEA) (DRF (CEA)) ; Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA), Arslan, Defne, Claverie, Jean-Michel, ANR-08-BLAN-0089,MIMIVIR

2013

Overview

Ten years ago, the discovery of Mimivirus, a virus infecting Acanthamoeba, initiated a reappraisal of the upper limits of the viral world, both in terms of particle size (>0.7 micrometers) and genome complexity (>1000 genes), dimensions typical of parasitic bacteria. The diversity of these giant viruses (the Megaviridae) was assessed by sampling a variety of aquatic environments and their associated sediments worldwide. We report the isolation of two giant viruses, one off the coast of central Chile, the other from a freshwater pond near Melbourne (Australia), without morphological or genomic resemblance to any previously defined virus families. Their micrometer-sized ovoid particles contain DNA genomes of at least 2.5 and 1.9 megabases, respectively. These viruses are the first members of the proposed \"Pandoravirus\" genus, a term reflecting their lack of similarity with previously described microorganisms and the surprises expected from their future study

• Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS),CCSD,American Association for the Advancement of Science,The American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subject: Acanthamoeba / Adenosine triphosphate / Amoeba / Amoeba - virology / Apoptosis / Aquatic environment / ATP / Bacteria / Base Sequence / Casing (process) / coat proteins / DNA / Eukaryotes / eukaryotic cells / Evolution, Molecular / Fresh Water - virology / Genes / Genetics / Genome, Viral / Genomes / Introns / Life Sciences / Light microscopy / Microorganisms / Mimiviridae - classification / Mimiviridae - genetics / Mimiviridae - isolation & purification / Mimiviridae - ultrastructure / Molecular Sequence Data / Nuclei / Parasites / Parasitic protozoa / Particle density / phagosomes / Phylogeny / Proteins / Proteomics / Seawater - virology / Sediments / translation (genetics) / Virions / Viruses / Zeus