Chlorovirus
| Chlorovirus | |
|---|---|
| Virus classification | |
| Group: | Group I (dsDNA) |
| Family: | Phycodnaviridae |
| Genus: | Chlorovirus |
| Type Species | |
Chlorovirus is a genus of giant double-stranded DNA virus, in the family Phycodnaviridae. Alga serve as natural hosts. There are currently 19 species in this genus including the type species Paramecium bursaria Chlorella virus 1. One species, Chlorovirus ATCV-1, commonly found in freshwater lakes, has been found to infect humans.
Group: dsDNA
Viruses in Chlorovirus are enveloped, with icosahedral and spherical geometries, and T=169 symmetry. The diameter is around 100-220 nm. Genomes are linear, around 330 kb in length. The genome has 700 open reading frames.
Chloroviruses infect certain unicellular, eukaryotic, exsymbiontic chlorella-like green algae, called zoochlorellae. Chloroviruses are very species and even strain specific. Zoochlorellae are associated with the protozoan Paramecium bursaria, the coelenterate Hydra viridis, the heliozoon Acanthocystis turfacea and other freshwater and marine invertebrates and protozoans. Chloroviruses are common in inland waters throughout the world with titers as high as thousands of plaque-forming units (PFUs) per milliliter of indigenous water, although titers are typically 1-100 PFUs/mL. The viruses cannot infect zoochlorellae when they are in their symbiotic phase and there is no evidence that zoochlorellae grow free of their hosts in indigenous waters.
Viral replication is nucleo-cytoplasmic. Replication follows the DNA strand displacement model. Dna templated transcription is the method of transcription. The virus exits the host cell by lysis via lytic phospholipids. Alga serve as the natural host. Transmission routes are passive diffusion.
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