Mimivirus inaugurated in the 21st century the beginning of a reclassification of viruses.

Mimivirus inaugurated in the 21st century the beginning of a reclassification of viruses.
Curr Opin Microbiol. 2016 Jan 29;31:16-24
Authors: Sharma V, Colson P, Pontarotti P, Raoult D
Abstract
Mimivirus and other giant viruses are visible by light microscopy and bona fide microbes that differ from other viruses and from cells that have a ribosome. They can be defined by: giant virion and genome sizes; their complexity, with the presence of DNA and mRNAs and dozens or hundreds of proteins in virions; the presence of translation-associated components; a mobilome including (pro)virophages (and a defence mechanism, named MIMIVIRE, against them) and transpovirons; their monophyly; the presence of the most archaic protein motifs they share with cellular organisms but not other viruses; a broader host range than other viruses. These features show that giant viruses are specific, autonomous, biological entities that warrant the creation of a new branch of microbes.
PMID: 26829206 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Source: Current Opinion in Microbiology - January 29, 2016 Category: Microbiology Authors: Sharma V, Colson P, Pontarotti P, Raoult D Tags: Curr Opin Microbiol Source Type: research