Biology – Quantitative Biology – Populations and Evolution
Scientific paper
2005-06-07
Biology
Quantitative Biology
Populations and Evolution
Submitted to Virus Research
Scientific paper
The recently discovered Acanthamoeba polyphaga Mimivirus is the largest known DNA virus. Its particle size (>400 nm), genome length (1.2 million bp) and large gene repertoire (911 protein coding genes) blur the established boundaries between viruses and parasitic cellular organisms. In addition, the analysis of its genome sequence identified new types of genes not expected to be seen in a virus, such as aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases and other central components of the translation machinery. In this article, we examine how the finding of a giant virus for the first time overlapping with the world of cellular organisms in terms of size and genome complexity might durably influence the way we look at microbial biodiversity, and force us to fundamentally revise our classification of life forms. We propose to introduce the word "girus" to recognize the intermediate status of these giant DNA viruses, the genome complexity of which make them closer to small parasitic prokaryotes than to regular viruses.
Abergel Chantal
Audic Stéphane
Claverie Jean-Michel
Fournier Pierre-Edouard
Ogata Hiroyuki
No associations
LandOfFree
Mimivirus and the emerging concept of "giant" virus does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Mimivirus and the emerging concept of "giant" virus, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Mimivirus and the emerging concept of "giant" virus will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-538879