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

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…

• US
  United States - Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund
• VU
  Vanderbilt University
• AN
  Agence Nationale de la Recherche

  Awards: ANR-10-INBS-08, ANR-10-INBS-08-01, ANR-10
• IN
  Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale
• CN
  Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
• NI
  National Institutes of Health

  Awards: DK020593, DK19974
• VD
  Vanderbilt Diabetes Research and Training Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center

  Award: DK020593