Cedratvirus, a Double-Cork Structured Giant Virus, is a Distant Relative of Pithoviruses

Julien Andreani (1) , Sarah Aherfi (1, 2, 3) , Jacques Yaacoub Bou Khalil (1) , Fabrizio Di Pinto (2, 3) , Idir Bitam (4) , Didier Raoult (1, 2, 3) , Philippe Colson (1, 2, 3) , Bernard La Scola (1, 2, 3)

1 URMITE - Unité de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes
2 IHU Marseille - Institut Hospitalier Universitaire Méditerranée Infection
3 TIMONE - Hôpital de la Timone [CHU - APHM]
4 USTHB - Université des Sciences et de la Technologie Houari Boumediene = University of Sciences and Technology Houari Boumediene [Alger]

Most viruses are known for the ability to cause symptomatic diseases in humans and other animals. The discovery of Acanthamoeba polyphaga mimivirus and other giant amoebal viruses revealed a considerable and previously unknown area of uncharacterized viral particles. Giant viruses have been isolated from various environmental samples collected from very distant geographic places, revealing a ubiquitous distribution. Their morphological and genomic features are fundamental elements for classifying them. Herein, we report the isolation and draft genome of Cedratvirus, a new amoebal giant virus isolated in Acanthamoeba castellanii, from an Algerian environmental sample. The viral particles are ovoid-shaped, resembling Pithovirus sibericum, but differing notably in the presence of two corks at each extremity of the virion. The draft genome of Cedratvirus589,068 base pairs in lengthis a close relative of the two previously described pithoviruses, sharing 104 and 113 genes with P. sibericum and Pithovirus massiliensis genomes, respectively. Interestingly, analysis of these viruses' core genome reveals that only 21% of Cedratvirus genes are involved in best reciprocal hits with the two pithoviruses. Phylogeny reconstructions and comparative genomics indicate that Cedratvirus is most closely related to pithoviruses, and questions their membership in an enlarged putative Pithoviridae family.

Mots clés: giant viruses; Cedratvirus; Pithovirus; viral family; double-cork; co-culture; Acanthamoeba

Domaines: Virologie

Julien Andreani, Sarah Aherfi, Jacques Yaacoub Bou Khalil, Fabrizio Di Pinto, Idir Bitam, et al.. Cedratvirus, a Double-Cork Structured Giant Virus, is a Distant Relative of Pithoviruses. Viruses, 2016, 8 (11), ⟨10.3390/v8110300⟩. ⟨hal-01453281⟩