Isolation and genomic characterization of a new mimivirus of lineage B from a Brazilian river

• Published in: Archives of virology Vol. 165; no. 4; pp. 853 - 863
• Main Authors: Dos Santos Silva, Ludmila Karen, Rodrigues, Rodrigo Araújo Lima, dos Santos Pereira Andrade, Ana Cláudia, Hikida, Hiroyuki, Andreani, Julien, Levasseur, Anthony, La Scola, Bernard, Abrahão, Jônatas Santos
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Vienna Springer Vienna 01.04.2020; Springer Nature B.V; Springer Verlag
• Subjects: Bacteriology; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Brazil; Cardiology and cardiovascular system; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; Emerging diseases; Genome, Viral; Genomes; Genomics; Human health and pathology; Infectious Diseases; Life Sciences; Medical Microbiology; Microbiology and Parasitology; Mimiviridae - classification; Mimiviridae - genetics; Mimiviridae - isolation & purification; Mimiviridae - physiology; Open reading frames; Original Article; Parasitology; Phylogeny; Rivers; Rivers - virology; Translation; tRNA; Virology; Virus Replication; Viruses; Brazil
• ISSN: 0304-8608; 1432-8798
• DOI: 10.1007/s00705-020-04542-5

Since its discovery, the first identified giant virus associated with amoebae, Acanthamoeba polyphaga mimivirus (APMV), has been rigorously studied to understand the structural and genomic complexity of this virus. In this work, we report the isolation and genomic characterization of a new mimivirus of lineage B, named “Borely moumouvirus”. This new virus exhibits a structure and replicative cycle similar to those of other members of the family Mimiviridae . The genome of the new isolate is a linear double-strand DNA molecule of ~1.0 Mb, containing over 900 open reading frames. Genome annotation highlighted different translation system components encoded in the DNA of Borely moumouvirus, including aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, translation factors, and tRNA molecules, in a distribution similar to that in other lineage B mimiviruses. Pan-genome analysis indicated an increase in the genetic arsenal of this group of viruses, showing that the family Mimiviridae is still expanding. Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis has shown that Borely moumouvirus is closely related to moumouvirus australiensis. This is the first mimivirus lineage B isolated from Brazilian territory to be characterized. Further prospecting studies are necessary for us to better understand the diversity of these viruses so a better classification system can be established.