The discovery of giant viruses, with capsids as large as some bacteria, megabase-range
genomes and a variety of traits typically found only in cellular organisms, was one of the …

As obligate intracellular parasites, virus reproduction requires host cell functions. Despite
variations in genome size and configuration, nucleic acid composition, and their repertoire of …

The accidental discovery of the giant virus of amoeba—Acanthamoeba polyphaga mimivirus
(APMV; more commonly known as mimivirus)—in 2003 changed the field of virology …

During the 12 past years, five new or putative virus families encompassing several
members, namely Mimiviridae, Marseilleviridae, pandoraviruses, faustoviruses, and …

Although viruses require cellular functions to replicate, their absolute dependence upon the
host translation machinery to produce polypeptides indispensable for their reproduction is …

Viruses belonging to the Nucleocytoviricota phylum are globally distributed and include
members with notably large genomes and complex functional repertoires. Recent studies …

Viruses of the phylum Nucleocytoviricota are ubiquitous in ocean waters and play important
roles in sha** the dynamics of marine ecosystems. In this study, we leveraged the …

Free-living amoeba (FLA) group includes the potentially pathogenic genera Acanthamoeba,
Naegleria, Balamuthia, Sappinia, and Vermamoeba, causative agents of human infections …

The giant mimiviruses challenged the well-established concept of viruses, blurring the roots
of the tree of life, mainly due to their genetic content. Along with other nucleo-cytoplasmic …

It is well recognized that gene duplication/acquisition is a key factor for molecular evolution,
being directly related to the emergence of new genetic variants. The importance of such …