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

Vikas Sharma (1, 2) , Philippe Colson (3, 1) , Pierre Pontarotti (2) , Didier Raoult (1, 3)

1 URMITE - Unité de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes
2 I2M - Institut de Mathématiques de Marseille
3 IHU Marseille - Institut Hospitalier Universitaire Méditerranée Infection

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.

Domaines: Virologie; Mathématiques [math]

Vikas Sharma, Philippe Colson, Pierre Pontarotti, Didier Raoult. Mimivirus inaugurated in the 21st century the beginning of a reclassification of viruses. Current Opinion in Microbiology, 2016, 31, pp.16-24. ⟨10.1016/j.mib.2015.12.010⟩. ⟨hal-01308970⟩