Giants among larges: how gigantism impacts giant virus entry into amoebae.

Rodrigo Araújo Lima Rodrigues, Jônatas Santos Abrahão, Betânia Paiva Drumond, Erna Geessien Kroon

Current opinion in microbiology 2016 Jun

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The proposed order Megavirales comprises the nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses (NCLDV), infecting a wide range of hosts. Over time, they co-evolved with different host cells, developing various strategies to penetrate them. Mimiviruses and other giant viruses enter cells through phagocytosis, while Marseillevirus and other large viruses explore endocytosis and macropinocytosis. These differing strategies might reflect the evolution of those viruses. Various scenarios have been proposed for the origin and evolution of these viruses, presenting one of the most enigmatic issues to surround these microorganisms. In this context, we believe that giant viruses evolved independently by massive gene/size gain, exploring the phagocytic pathway of entry into amoebas. In response to gigantism, hosts developed mechanisms to evade these parasites. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Citation

Rodrigo Araújo Lima Rodrigues, Jônatas Santos Abrahão, Betânia Paiva Drumond, Erna Geessien Kroon. Giants among larges: how gigantism impacts giant virus entry into amoebae. Current opinion in microbiology. 2016 Jun;31:88-93