Review
Virology
Sihem Hannat, Bernard La Scola, Julien Andreani, Sarah Aherfi
Summary: Acanthamoeba polyphaga mimivirus, the first giant virus isolated from amoeba, was discovered in 2003, opening up a new field of virology. Since then, many other giant viruses have been found, forming new families and taxonomical groups. This study aims to summarize the main features of this group of giant viruses.
Review
Microbiology
Ellen Goncalves de Oliveira, Joao Victor Rodrigues Pessoa Carvalho, Bruna Barbosa Botelho, Clecio Alonso da Costa Filho, Lethicia Ribeiro Henriques, Bruna Luiza de Azevedo, Rodrigo Araujo Lima Rodrigues
Summary: This review presents the peculiarities of giant viruses that infect protists and discusses why they should be considered an outstanding source of new enzymes. By revisiting the genomes and studying the enzymatic machinery of different groups of giant viruses, this review highlights several genes involved in carbohydrate metabolism, DNA replication, and RNA processing that can be explored in biotechnology. Additionally, structural biology evidence using chitinase as a model reinforces the importance of giant viruses as a source of novel enzymes for biotechnological applications.
Article
Virology
Rodrigo A. L. Rodrigues, Victoria F. Queiroz, Jayadri Ghosh, David D. Dunigan, James L. Van Etten
Summary: This study performed a functional genomic analysis of chloroviruses that infect different hosts, revealing the characteristics of the pan-genome and the core genome of these viruses. These findings are important for understanding the evolution and ecology of chloroviruses.
JOURNAL OF VIROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Limnology
Kyle Michael James Mayers, Janice Lawrence, Katrine Sandnes Skaar, Joachim Paul Topper, Elzbieta Petelenz, Marius Rydningen Saltvedt, Ruth-Anne Sandaa, Aud Larsen, Gunnar Bratbak, Jessica Louise Ray
Summary: Experimental studies show that the appendicularian Oikopleura dioica can efficiently remove viruses from natural virus assemblages, while maintaining viral infectivity in fecal pellets. This interaction has broader implications for the marine virus community, raising questions about virus redistribution and impacts on host dynamics.
LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Charles Bachy, Charmaine C. M. Yung, David M. Needham, Maria Consuelo Gazitua, Simon Roux, Alexander J. Limardo, Chang Jae Choi, Danielle M. Jorgens, Matthew B. Sullivan, Alexandra Z. Worden
Summary: The study identified two ecotypes of the marine picoeukaryote Bathycoccus prasinos, Clade BI and newly named Clade BII (Bathycoccus calidus). Different viruses targeting these ecotypes showed distinct infection characteristics, with BII viruses demonstrating higher infectivity and mortality rates. The geographically linked distribution of host and virus clades suggests species-level host specificity and highlights the importance of strain-level variations in infection parameters.
Review
Virology
John P. DeLong, James L. Van Etten, David D. Dunigan
Summary: Viruses have a significant impact on ecological communities through the mortality of host cells, altering microbial community composition and releasing matter that can benefit other organisms. Recent studies suggest that viruses are more integrated into ecological communities than previously thought, particularly in the case of chloroviruses infecting chlorella-like green algae. These viruses engage in various interactions with other species, luring ciliates, relying on predators for host access, and serving as a food source for protists. These interactions depend on and influence the spatial structures and energy flows of communities, driven by predator-prey relationships. The emergence of these interactions is an eco-evolutionary puzzle with interdependence and various costs and benefits involved.
JOURNAL OF VIROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Morgan Gaia, Lingjie Meng, Eric Pelletier, Patrick Forterre, Chiara Vanni, Antonio Fernandez-Guerra, Olivier Jaillon, Patrick Wincker, Hiroyuki Ogata, Mart Krupovic, Tom O. Delmont
Summary: DNA viruses have a significant impact on the ecology and evolution of cellular organisms, but their overall diversity and evolutionary paths are still unclear. This study discovered plankton-infecting relatives of herpesviruses in the sunlit oceans, which belong to a new phylum named Mirusviricota. These mirusviruses exhibit chimaeric attributes connecting them to both herpesviruses and giant eukaryotic viruses, and they play a lasting role in the ecology of marine ecosystems and the evolution of eukaryotic DNA viruses.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Violette Da Cunha, Morgan Gaia, Hiroyuki Ogata, Olivier Jaillon, Tom O. Delmont, Patrick Forterre
Summary: This study reveals the presence and expression of actin-related genes in viral genomes, suggesting that viruses recruited these genes from ancient protoeukaryotic hosts and transferred them to give rise to eukaryotic actins, which could have contributed to the emergence of the modern eukaryotic cytoskeleton.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Virology
Briallen Lobb, Anson Shapter, Andrew C. Doxey, Jozef I. Nissimov
Summary: A study found that 30% of the genes in the Coccolithovirus genome are shared by all 14 strains, and core genes are more likely to be similar to host proteins and involved in critical functions, providing a solid foundation for functional predictions of this genome.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Patrick Arthofer, Vincent Delafont, Anouk Willemsen, Florian Panhoelzl, Matthias Horn
Summary: Protists play important roles in regulating microbial communities and food webs. Their activity is influenced by intracellular parasites, including bacterial symbionts and viruses. This study investigates the interaction between bacterial symbionts and nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses in free-living amoebae. The findings show that the bacterial symbiont represses viral replication and protects the amoeba host. This study highlights the importance of virus-symbiont interactions in microbial population dynamics and ecosystem processes.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Amanda Palowski, Cecilia Balestreri, Pedro E. Urriola, Jennifer L. G. van de Ligt, Fernando Sampedro, Scott Dee, Apoorva Shah, Haile F. Yancy, Gerald C. Shurson, Declan C. Schroeder
Summary: This study found that ASFV-like NCLDVs can retain viability in swine feed during long-distance transportation, and sampling sensitivity may explain the variation in virus quantity observed.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biology
Shoko Hososhima, Ritsu Mizutori, Rei Abe-Yoshizumi, Andrey Rozenberg, Shunta Shigemura, Alina Pushkarev, Masae Konno, Kota Katayama, Keiichi Inoue, Satoshi P. Tsunoda, Oded Beja, Hideki Kandori
Summary: Rhodopsins, including the newly discovered Heliorhodopsins (HeRs), are proteins that convert light into signals and energy. A viral HeR, V2HeR3, was found to be a light-activated proton transporter with potential applications in optogenetics. The function of HeRs in different organisms and viruses remains diverse and not fully understood.
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Immacolata Speciale, Anna Notaro, Chantal Abergel, Rosa Lanzetta, Todd L. Lowary, Antonio Molinaro, Michela Tonetti, James L. Van Etten, Cristina De Castro
Summary: Viruses are a diverse group of entities that require a suitable host for replication. Recently discovered large and giant viruses have their own glycosylation pathway, different from the traditional paradigm where viral glycans mimic those of the host. This review focuses on large and giant viruses that produce carbohydrate-processing enzymes and discusses achievements in elucidating glycan structures, manipulating sugars, and organic synthesis of virus-encoded glycans.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Lingjie Meng, Tom O. Delmont, Morgan Gaia, Eric Pelletier, Antonio Fernandez-Guerra, Samuel Chaffron, Russell Y. Neches, Junyi Wu, Hiroto Kaneko, Hisashi Endo, Hiroyuki Ogata
Summary: The adaptation of viruses in polar oceans to the extremely cold environment is still largely unknown. This study utilizes the Global Ocean Eukaryotic Viral database to investigate the biogeography and functional repertoire of viruses in polar and nonpolar regions. The results indicate the existence of an ecological barrier separating polar and nonpolar viral communities, with temperature driving significant changes in the virus-host network at the boundary.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Virology
Han Wang, Anna Munke, Siqi Li, Yuji Tomaru, Kenta Okamoto
Summary: Marnaviridae viruses are abundant algal viruses that regulate algal blooms in aquatic environments with their host-specific receptor-binding mechanism. The atomic structures of Chaetoceros socialis forma radians RNA virus 1 capsids provide insights into assembly and uncoating processes. Identifying common and diverse structural features of VP1 surface between Marnaviridae viruses and using AlphaFold2 for structural prediction can help classify these viruses by hosts and infer host-specific receptor-binding mechanisms.
Article
Physiology
Laura-Marie Winterstein, Kerri Kukovetz, Ulf-Peter Hansen, Indra Schroeder, James L. Van Etten, Anna Moroni, Gerhard Thiel, Oliver Rauh
Summary: The lipid composition of cell membranes affects the function of transmembrane proteins, such as ion channels. Cholesterol and anionic phospholipids can impact the unitary conductance and gating of K+ channels, with anionic phospholipids generally augmenting unitary conductance. The presence of cationic amino acids at the lipid-protein interface may explain the different sensitivity of channels to anionic phospholipids.
JOURNAL OF GENERAL PHYSIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Virology
Irina V. Agarkova, Leslie C. Lane, David D. Dunigan, Cristian F. Quispe, Garry A. Duncan, Elad Milrot, Abraham Minsky, Ahmed Esmael, Jayadri S. Ghosh, James L. Van Etten
Summary: Chloroviruses infect eukaryotic organisms by penetrating the host's cell wall, with protein A561L(D4) playing a key role in degrading the cell wall. This protein is present in all 52 genomically sequenced chloroviruses and can increase the specific infectivity of PBCV-1.
Review
Microbiology
John P. DeLong, Maitham A. Al-Sammak, Zeina T. Al-Ameeli, David D. Dunigan, Kyle F. Edwards, Jeffry J. Fuhrmann, Jason P. Gleghorn, Hanqun Li, Kona Haramoto, Amelia O. Harrison, Marcia F. Marston, Ryan M. Moore, Shawn W. Polson, Barbra D. Ferrell, Miranda E. Salsbery, Christopher R. Schvarcz, Jasmine Shirazi, Grieg F. Steward, James L. Van Etten, K. Eric Wommack
Summary: This review discusses the traits of viral cells and viral particles, as well as how to categorize virus phenotypes; the foundational goal in biology is understanding how phenotypes emerge from genotypes; identifying the features that constitute a virus's phenotype is crucial for comprehensive interpretation of viral genome sequences and for advancing our understanding of viral evolution and ecology.
NATURE REVIEWS MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Qianqian Shao, Irina Agarkova, Eric A. Noel, David D. Dunigan, Yunshu Liu, Aohan Wang, Mingcheng Guo, Linlin Xie, Xinyue Zhao, Michael G. Rossmann, James L. Van Etten, Thomas Klose, Qianglin Fang
Summary: This study presents a near-atomic resolution analysis of the capsid of a giant virus, revealing multiple protein variants that do not follow overall symmetry and providing insights into the assembly mechanism of giant virus capsids.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
John P. DeLong, James L. Van Etten, Zeina Al-Ameeli, Irina V. Agarkova, David D. Dunigan
Summary: Viruses impact host cells and indirectly affect ecosystem processes. Plankton such as ciliates can consume viruses and still grow and reproduce even without other food sources. These findings suggest that the effects of viruses on ecosystems go beyond simple energy transfer.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Review
Virology
John P. DeLong, James L. Van Etten, David D. Dunigan
Summary: Viruses have a significant impact on ecological communities through the mortality of host cells, altering microbial community composition and releasing matter that can benefit other organisms. Recent studies suggest that viruses are more integrated into ecological communities than previously thought, particularly in the case of chloroviruses infecting chlorella-like green algae. These viruses engage in various interactions with other species, luring ciliates, relying on predators for host access, and serving as a food source for protists. These interactions depend on and influence the spatial structures and energy flows of communities, driven by predator-prey relationships. The emergence of these interactions is an eco-evolutionary puzzle with interdependence and various costs and benefits involved.
JOURNAL OF VIROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Virology
David D. Dunigan, Irina V. Agarkova, Ahmed Esmael, Sophie Alvarez, James L. Van Etten
Summary: Paramecium bursaria chlorella virus 1 (PBCV-1) faces challenges in DNA replication due to differences in DNA composition and quantity between the virus and host cell. Through reprogramming of the nucleotide biosynthesis pathway, PBCV-1 successfully overcomes these challenges.
Article
Ecology
Huy V. N. Ho, David D. Dunigan, Miranda E. Salsbery, Irina V. Agarkova, Zeina Al Ameeli, James L. Van Etten, John P. Delong
Summary: This study investigates the influence of symbionts on Paramecium bursaria's chemotactic behavior towards chloroviruses, finding that the endosymbiotic algae can alter the movement of Paramecia towards chloroviruses. However, it remains unclear whether the ectosymbiotic viruses also have the same effect. The potential costs and benefits of chemotactic movement towards chloroviruses for either the Paramecia hosts or its symbionts are still unclear.
Article
Cell Biology
Anja J. Engel, Steffen Paech, Markus Langhans, James L. van Etten, Anna Moroni, Gerhard Thiel, Oliver Rauh
Summary: When the K+ channel-like protein Kesv from Ectocarpus siliculosus virus 1 is expressed in mammalian cells, it is targeted to the mitochondria. By altering codon usage or inserting hydrophobic amino acids into the protein's C-terminal transmembrane domain, the targeting can be redirected to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Positive charge in the inserted amino acid triplet serves as a strong signal for mitochondria sorting, while a combination of hydrophilic amino acids and rarely used codons favors mitochondria sorting in cases of neutral amino acid triplets. Sorting to the ER is influenced by the inverse dependency. The data suggest that local changes in elongation velocity and co-translational folding in the C-terminal transmembrane domain can influence intracellular protein sorting.
Article
Virology
Ahmed Esmael, Irina V. Agarkova, David D. Dunigan, You Zhou, James L. Van Etten
Summary: A virus called OSy virus was found to replicate exclusively in Syngen 2-3 cells and not in NC64A cells. It was observed that approximately 20% of infected cells produced empty virus capsids, but these cells were unable to replicate the viral genome and produce infectious viruses.
Article
Virology
Rodrigo A. L. Rodrigues, Victoria F. Queiroz, Jayadri Ghosh, David D. Dunigan, James L. Van Etten
Summary: This study performed a functional genomic analysis of chloroviruses that infect different hosts, revealing the characteristics of the pan-genome and the core genome of these viruses. These findings are important for understanding the evolution and ecology of chloroviruses.
JOURNAL OF VIROLOGY
(2022)