Abstract
Since the recent discovery of Samba virus, the first representative of the family Mimiviridae from Brazil, prospecting for mimiviruses has been conducted in different environmental conditions in Brazil. Recently, we isolated using Acanthamoeba sp. three new mimiviruses, all of lineage A of amoebal mimiviruses: Kroon virus from urban lake water; Amazonia virus from the Brazilian Amazon river; and Oyster virus from farmed oysters. The aims of this work were to sequence and analyze the genome of these new Brazilian mimiviruses (mimi-BR) and update the analysis of the Samba virus genome. The genomes of Samba virus, Amazonia virus and Oyster virus were 97%–99% similar, whereas Kroon virus had a low similarity (90%–91%) with other mimi-BR. A total of 3877 proteins encoded by mimi-BR were grouped into 974 orthologous clusters. In addition, we identified three new ORFans in the Kroon virus genome. Additional work is needed to expand our knowledge of the diversity of mimiviruses from Brazil, including if and why among amoebal mimiviruses those of lineage A predominate in the Brazilian environment.
Highlights
Acanthamoeba polyphaga mimivirus (APMV) was isolated in 1992
The viruses described in this work were isolated from: (A) Amazonia virus (AMAV): water sample from the Negro River, Amazon forest, in 2011; (B) Kroon virus (KROV): water sample from an urban lake in Lagoa Santa city, Minas Gerais State, in 2012; and (C) Oyster virus (OYTV): oyster samples farmed on the Atlantic coast, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina state, in 2013 [22] (Figure 1)
The assessment of tRNA gene expression was congruent with the genomic analyses, by detecting six tRNA molecules in SMBV and OYTV, whereas no tryptophanyl-tRNA expression was detected in KROV
Summary
In 2003, it was identified as a nucleocytoplasmic large DNA virus (NCLDV) and the first member of the family Mimiviridae [1]. Before that identification, such morphological complexity, virion size (>400 nm), genome length (≈1.2 million base pairs (bp)) and extensive gene content (979 protein coding genes) had not been attributed to any virus. Over 50 mimiviruses have been isolated from cooling tower water, freshwater and saltwater, soil, leech and clinical samples collected in England, France, USA, Chile, Brazil and Tunisia [3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11]. DNA from these viruses was identified in the Sargasso Sea and other ocean samples during metagenomic studies [12,13,14]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
