Cafeteria roenbergensis virus
| Cafeteria roenbergensis virus | |
|---|---|
| Virus classification | |
| Group: | Group I (dsDNA) |
| Family: | Mimiviridae |
| Genus: | Cafeteriavirus |
| Species | |
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Cafeteria roenbergensis virus |
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Cafeteria roenbergensis virus
Cafeteria roenbergensis virus (CroV) is a giant virus that infects the marine bicosoecid flagellate Cafeteria roenbergensis. CroV has one of the largest genomes of all marine viruses known, consisting of ~730,000 base pairs of double-stranded DNA. Among its 544 predicted protein-coding genes are several that are usually restricted to cellular organisms, such as translation factors and enzymes for DNA repair and carbohydrate synthesis. CroV is distantly related to Mimivirus and belongs to a group of viruses known as Nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses. CroV is itself parasitized by a virophage named "Mavirus".
Viral protein composition includes 141 encoded proteins that have been identified in CroV, a number believed to be in close proximity to the entirety of the virion proteome. The virus packages several distinct groups of proteins, including a presumably complete base excision repair (BER) pathway. This is the most extensive DNA repair machinery that has yet been observed in viruses to date. It is also the first virus to be found with a mechanosensitive ion channel protein, which may protect the genome from osmotic damage. Mature CroV consists of a 300 nm diameter outer protein shell with icosahedral symmetry, an underlying lipid membrane, and an inner core that contains the genome.
CroV is the sole member of the Cafeteriavirus genus in the Mimiviridae family within the proposed order Megavirales. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that the virus is a nucleocytoplasmic large DNA virus (NCLD virus). Acanthamoeba polyphaga mimivirus is its closest known relative, although the two viruses share less than one-third of homologous genes.
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