Mimivirus relatives in the Sargasso sea

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 16, 2026

A Rapid Strategy for the Isolation of New Faustoviruses from Environmental Samples Using Vermamoeba vermiformis
09:27

A Rapid Strategy for the Isolation of New Faustoviruses from Environmental Samples Using Vermamoeba vermiformis

Published on: June 4, 2016

Elodie Ghedin1, Jean-Michel Claverie

  • 1Department of Parasite and Virus Genomics, The Institute for Genomic Research, Rockville, MD 20850, USA. eghdin@tigr.org

Virology Journal
|August 18, 2005
PubMed

Insights

The discovery of Mimivirus, a giant virus, challenges our understanding of virus and cellular organism boundaries. New evidence suggests related large viruses are abundant in the Sargasso Sea, offering insights into early life evolution.

Area of Science:

  • Virology
  • Genomics
  • Evolutionary Biology

Background:

  • Acanthamoeba polyphaga Mimivirus is the largest known DNA virus, possessing a large genome and gene repertoire.
  • Its characteristics blur the lines between viruses and parasitic cellular organisms.
  • Phylogenetic analyses suggest Mimivirus lineage predates cellular organism divergence.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the existence of other large viruses related to Mimivirus.
  • To identify potential habitats for novel Mimiviridae.
  • To understand the evolutionary origins and diversity of giant viruses.

Main Methods:

  • Exhaustive similarity search of Mimivirus proteins against public sequence databases.
  • Phylogenetic analysis of identified homologous sequences.
  • Environmental DNA sequencing in the Sargasso Sea.

Main Results:

  • Homologues of Mimivirus proteins were found in Sargasso Sea environmental sequences.
  • Phylogenetic analyses indicate the abundance of unknown large viruses evolutionarily related to Mimivirus in the Sargasso Sea.
  • These findings suggest Mimivirus is not unique and belongs to a broader group of giant viruses.

Conclusions:

  • The Sargasso Sea harbors a diverse population of large DNA viruses related to Mimivirus.
  • Further isolation and sequencing of these viruses are crucial for understanding viral evolution and the emergence of eukaryotes.
  • This research expands our knowledge of viral diversity and its role in early life.

More Related Videos

Single Cell Micro-aspiration as an Alternative Strategy to Fluorescence-activated Cell Sorting for Giant Virus Mixture Separation09:50

Single Cell Micro-aspiration as an Alternative Strategy to Fluorescence-activated Cell Sorting for Giant Virus Mixture Separation

Published on: October 27, 2019

In Situ Hybridization Techniques for Paraffin-Embedded Adult Coral Samples07:24

In Situ Hybridization Techniques for Paraffin-Embedded Adult Coral Samples

Published on: August 31, 2018

Related Concept Videos

Viruses of Archaea01:29

Viruses of Archaea

Archaeal viruses play a crucial role in the ecosystems of extremophilic archaea, particularly those belonging to the phyla Euryarchaeota and Crenarchaeota. By shaping host evolution and facilitating gene transfer, these viruses influence microbial communities and contribute to genetic diversity in extreme environments. The archaea they infect thrive in acidic hot springs and hydrothermal vents characterized by high temperatures and low pH. Archaeal viruses exhibit remarkable structural...
Diversity of Protists IV01:27

Diversity of Protists IV

Amoebozoa represent a diverse group of terrestrial and aquatic protists that utilize lobe-shaped pseudopodia for locomotion and feeding. This characteristic differentiates them from the Rhizaria, which possess threadlike pseudopodia. The primary classifications within Amoebozoa include gymnamoebas, entamoebas, and the plasmodial and cellular slime molds. Phylogenetic evidence indicates that Amoebozoa diverged from a lineage that ultimately gave rise to fungi and animals.Gymnamoebas and...
Diversity of Protists III01:27

Diversity of Protists III

Rhizaria are a diverse group of unicellular protists characterized by their threadlike cytoplasmic extensions known as pseudopodia. These structures aid in both locomotion and feeding, giving Rhizaria an amoeboid appearance. Their amoeboid morphology once led to taxonomic confusion, but molecular phylogenetics has clarified their evolutionary placement and emphasized their shared use of pseudopodia despite divergent lineages.This clade comprises diverse lineages such as Chlorarachniophyta,...
Diversity of Protists II01:27

Diversity of Protists II

Alveolates are a group of organisms recognized by the presence of alveoli, which are cytoplasmic sacs located beneath the cell membrane. While their function remains uncertain, alveoli may help regulate water balance by controlling how much water enters and leaves the cell. In dinoflagellates, these structures may serve as armor plates. There are three major types of alveolates: ciliates, which move using cilia; dinoflagellates, which use flagella for movement; and apicomplexans, which are...
Diversity of Protists I01:15

Diversity of Protists I

Excavata is a diverse group of protists that includes both chemoorganotrophic and phototrophic species, with some thriving in anaerobic environments. Among the key groups within Excavata are diplomonads and parabasalids, which are flagellated protists that lack mitochondria and chloroplasts. These microorganisms typically inhabit anoxic environments, such as the intestines of animals, where they exist either symbiotically or as parasites, relying on fermentation for energy production. Some...
Multi-species Conserved Sequences02:51

Multi-species Conserved Sequences

Next-generation sequencing technologies have created large genomic databases of a variety of animals and plants. Ever since the human genome project was completed, scientists studied the genome of primates, mammals, and other phylogenetically distant living beings. Such large-scale  studies have provided new insights into the evolutionary relationship between organisms.
Although the genome of each species varies greatly from each other, a few sequences are highly conserved. Such conserved DNA...