tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Science 19 July 2013:
Vol. 341 no. 6143 pp. 281-286
DOI: 10.1126/science.1239181
Report
Pandoraviruses: Amoeba Viruses with Genomes Up to 2.5 Mb Reaching That of Parasitic Eukaryotes
Nad?ge Philippe1,2,*,
Matthieu Legendre1,*,
Gabriel Doutre1,
Yohann Cout?3,
Olivier Poirot1,
Magali Lescot1,
Defne Arslan1,
Virginie Seltzer1,
Lionel Bertaux1,
Christophe Bruley3,
J?rome Garin3,
Jean-Michel Claverie1,?,
Chantal Abergel1,?
+ Author Affiliations
1Structural and Genomic Information Laboratory, UMR 7256 CNRS Aix-Marseille Universit?, 163 Avenue de Luminy, Case 934, 13288 Marseille cedex 9, France.
2Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University, Husargatan 3 (Box 596), SE-751 24 Uppsala, Sweden.
3CEA, IRTSV, Biologie ? Grande Echelle, INSERM, U1038, Universit? Joseph Fourier Grenoble 1, F-38054 Grenoble, France.
↵?Corresponding author. E-mail: chantal.abergel@igs.cnrs-mrs.fr (C.A.); jean-michel.claverie@univ-amu.fr (J.-M.C.)
↵* These authors contributed equally to this work.
Abstract
Editor's Summary
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.
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/341/6143/281
Vol. 341 no. 6143 pp. 281-286
DOI: 10.1126/science.1239181
Report
Pandoraviruses: Amoeba Viruses with Genomes Up to 2.5 Mb Reaching That of Parasitic Eukaryotes
Nad?ge Philippe1,2,*,
Matthieu Legendre1,*,
Gabriel Doutre1,
Yohann Cout?3,
Olivier Poirot1,
Magali Lescot1,
Defne Arslan1,
Virginie Seltzer1,
Lionel Bertaux1,
Christophe Bruley3,
J?rome Garin3,
Jean-Michel Claverie1,?,
Chantal Abergel1,?
+ Author Affiliations
1Structural and Genomic Information Laboratory, UMR 7256 CNRS Aix-Marseille Universit?, 163 Avenue de Luminy, Case 934, 13288 Marseille cedex 9, France.
2Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University, Husargatan 3 (Box 596), SE-751 24 Uppsala, Sweden.
3CEA, IRTSV, Biologie ? Grande Echelle, INSERM, U1038, Universit? Joseph Fourier Grenoble 1, F-38054 Grenoble, France.
↵?Corresponding author. E-mail: chantal.abergel@igs.cnrs-mrs.fr (C.A.); jean-michel.claverie@univ-amu.fr (J.-M.C.)
↵* These authors contributed equally to this work.
Abstract
Editor's Summary
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.
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/341/6143/281