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In-depth study of Mollivirus sibericum , a new 30,000-y-old giant virus infecting Acanthamoeba

Matthieu Legendre 1 Audrey Lartigue 1 Lionel Bertaux 1 Sandra Jeudy 1 Julia Bartoli 1 Magali Lescot 1 Jean-Marie Alempic 1 Claire Ramus 2 Christophe Bruley 2 Karine Labadie 3 Lyubov Shmakova 4 Elizaveta Rivkina 4 Yohann Coute 2 Chantal Abergel 1, * Jean-Michel Claverie 1, *
* Corresponding author
1 IGS - Information génomique et structurale
2 BGE - UMR S1038 - Laboratoire de Biologie à Grande Échelle
3 IG - Institut de Génomique d'Evry
4 Institute of Physicochemical and Biological Problems in Soil Science
Abstract : Acanthamoeba species are infected by the largest known DNA viruses. These include icosahedral Mimiviruses, amphora-shaped Pandoraviruses, and Pithovirus sibericum, the latter one isolated from 30,000-y-old permafrost. Mollivirus sibericum, a fourth type of giant virus, was isolated from the same permafrost sample. Its approximately spherical virion (0.6-µm diameter) encloses a 651-kb GC-rich genome encoding 523 proteins of which 64% are ORFans; 16% have their closest homolog in Pandoraviruses and 10% in Acanthamoeba castellanii probably through horizontal gene transfer. The Mollivirus nucleocytoplasmic replication cycle was analyzed using a combination of “omic” approaches that revealed how the virus highjacks its host machinery to actively replicate. Surprisingly, the host’s ribosomal proteins are packaged in the virion. Metagenomic analysis of the permafrost sample uncovered the presence of both viruses, yet in very low amount. The fact that two different viruses retain their infectivity in prehistorical permafrost layers should be of concern in a context of global warming. Giant viruses’ diversity remains to be fully explored.
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https://hal-cea.archives-ouvertes.fr/cea-01825900
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Submitted on : Thursday, June 28, 2018 - 5:11:08 PM
Last modification on : Monday, October 25, 2021 - 2:32:21 PM

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Matthieu Legendre, Audrey Lartigue, Lionel Bertaux, Sandra Jeudy, Julia Bartoli, et al.. In-depth study of Mollivirus sibericum , a new 30,000-y-old giant virus infecting Acanthamoeba. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America , National Academy of Sciences, 2015, 112, pp.E5327 - E5335. ⟨10.1073/pnas.1510795112⟩. ⟨cea-01825900⟩

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