What are these giant viruses doing here?: New aspects on the explanation of the origin and evolution of viruses

Authors

  • Juan José Borrego Spain

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24310/enbio.v10i164.17509

Keywords:

Megaviruses, origin and evolution of the viruses, philogeny

Abstract

Megaviruses or giant viruses infect amoebas and exhibit remarkable features inside of the viral world. The sizes of their virions are between 2 and 15 times larger than the known large viruses, such as pox-, herpes- and iridoviruses, and their genomes contains about 50-250 times more genes, among which large proportions are unique amongst viruses, and a high proportion of them with unknown functions. Moreover, they enter amoebas through phagocytosis; no specific interaction with cell receptors is needed, unlike for traditional viruses. A major controversy is whether giant amoebal viruses comprise a fourth branch in the tree of life, aside Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya. No gene has been detected that is shared by all viruses, and only five major viral groups could be shown being monophyletic.

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Published

2017-11-14

How to Cite

Borrego, J. J. (2017). What are these giant viruses doing here?: New aspects on the explanation of the origin and evolution of viruses. Encuentros En La Biología, 10(164), 264–267. https://doi.org/10.24310/enbio.v10i164.17509

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Artículos