Abstract
The nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses (NCLDV) possess unique characteristics that have drawn the attention of the scientific community, and they are now classified in the phylum Nucleocytoviricota. They are characterized by sharing many genes and have their own transcriptional apparatus, which provides certain independence from their host’s machinery. Thus, the presence of a robust transcriptional apparatus has raised much discussion about the evolutionary aspects of these viruses and their genomes. Understanding the transcriptional process in NCLDV would provide information regarding their evolutionary history and a better comprehension of the biology of these viruses and their interaction with hosts. In this work, we reviewed NCLDV transcription and performed a comparative functional analysis of the groups of genes expressed at different times of infection of representatives of six different viral families of giant viruses. With this analysis, it was possible to observe a temporal profile of their gene expression and set of genes activated in specific phases throughout the multiplication cycle as a common characteristic of this group. Due to the lack of information regarding the transcriptional regulation process of this group of pathogens, we sought to provide information that contributes to and opens up the field for transcriptional studies of other viruses belonging to Nucleocytoviricota.
Highlights
The nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses (NCLDV) are characterized by sharing a set of conserved genes related to replication, transcription, and morphogenesis, a phenomenon that suggests these viruses have a common evolutionary origin
We only compared the transcriptional patterns of viruses related to six different taxa, all belonging to the phylum Nucleocytoviricota
Despite a common pattern for temporal gene expression, a feature possibly inherited from the last common ancestor of Nucleocytoviricota, it is most likely that each viral group has had a different history of gene gain and loss [75], possibly due to interaction with distinct hosts and sympatric organisms, resulting in different proportions of functional categories of orthologous genes
Summary
The nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses (NCLDV) are characterized by sharing a set of conserved genes related to replication, transcription, and morphogenesis, a phenomenon that suggests these viruses have a common evolutionary origin. We reviewed NCLDV transcription and performed a comparative functional analysis according to what had been described previously for NCVOG as early, intermediate, and late genes expressed throughout the replication cycle of different viruses, considering representatives of six viral groups within Nucleocytoviricota. This analysis provides information on a transcriptional pattern of these viruses, with additional evidence for a common origin of this group of pathogens. Understanding the regulation of gene expression throughout the replication cycle improves our knowledge about the biology of giant viruses
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