Host Range and Coding Potential of Eukaryotic Giant Viruses
1
Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan
2
Genome and Systems Biology Degree Program, National Taiwan University and Academia Sinica, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Viruses 2020, 12(11), 1337; https://doi.org/10.3390/v12111337
Received: 7 November 2020
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Revised: 19 November 2020
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Accepted: 19 November 2020
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Published: 21 November 2020
(This article belongs to the Collection Unconventional Viruses)
Giant viruses are a group of eukaryotic double-stranded DNA viruses with large virion and genome size that challenged the traditional view of virus. Newly isolated strains and sequenced genomes in the last two decades have substantially advanced our knowledge of their host diversity, gene functions, and evolutionary history. Giant viruses are now known to infect hosts from all major supergroups in the eukaryotic tree of life, which predominantly comprises microbial organisms. The seven well-recognized viral clades (taxonomic families) have drastically different host range. Mimiviridae and Phycodnaviridae, both with notable intrafamilial genome variation and high abundance in environmental samples, have members that infect the most diverse eukaryotic lineages. Laboratory experiments and comparative genomics have shed light on the unprecedented functional potential of giant viruses, encoding proteins for genetic information flow, energy metabolism, synthesis of biomolecules, membrane transport, and sensing that allow for sophisticated control of intracellular conditions and cell-environment interactions. Evolutionary genomics can illuminate how current and past hosts shape viral gene repertoires, although it becomes more obscure with divergent sequences and deep phylogenies. Continued works to characterize giant viruses from marine and other environments will further contribute to our understanding of their host range, coding potential, and virus-host coevolution.
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Keywords:
Nucleo-Cytoplasmic Large DNA Viruses (NCLDVs); algae; protists; cophylogeny; host switch; auxiliary genes; virus-encoded metabolism; gene repertoire; genome evolution; lateral gene transfers
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MDPI and ACS Style
Sun, T.-W.; Yang, C.-L.; Kao, T.-T.; Wang, T.-H.; Lai, M.-W.; Ku, C. Host Range and Coding Potential of Eukaryotic Giant Viruses. Viruses 2020, 12, 1337. https://doi.org/10.3390/v12111337
AMA Style
Sun T-W, Yang C-L, Kao T-T, Wang T-H, Lai M-W, Ku C. Host Range and Coding Potential of Eukaryotic Giant Viruses. Viruses. 2020; 12(11):1337. https://doi.org/10.3390/v12111337
Chicago/Turabian StyleSun, Tsu-Wang, Chia-Ling Yang, Tzu-Tong Kao, Tzu-Haw Wang, Ming-Wei Lai, and Chuan Ku. 2020. "Host Range and Coding Potential of Eukaryotic Giant Viruses" Viruses 12, no. 11: 1337. https://doi.org/10.3390/v12111337
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