Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 12, 2026

A Rapid Strategy for the Isolation of New Faustoviruses from Environmental Samples Using Vermamoeba vermiformis
Published on: June 4, 2016
A Marseillevirus isolate from the Brazilian wetlands
Matheus Felipe Dos Reis Rodrigues1, Nidia Esther Colquehuanca Arias1, Talita Bastos Machado1
1Departamento de Microbiologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brasil.
Abstract:
Marseilleviruses are giant viruses that infect amoebas and have been isolated from various environments. Here, we describe a new strain, isolated from a water sample collected from the Paraguay River in the Brazilian Pantanal, which we have named "Marseillevirus pantanense". Transmission and scanning electron microscopy revealed icosahedral particles approximately 190 nm in diameter. Genomic and phylogenetic analyses show that M. pantanense has a 379,900-bp genome with 496 open reading frames, including 12 ORFans and two tRNAs. Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis places M. pantanense within Marseillevirus lineage A, group I. The findings of in this study underscore the importance of isolating new viruses to expand our understanding of the abundance and distribution of giant viruses in Brazilian biomes.
Related Concept Videos
Marine Microbial Ecology
Freshwater Microbial Ecology
Viral Meningitis
Arboviral Encephalitis
Leishmaniasis
Malaria

