| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2825632 | Trends in Genetics | 2007 | 6 Pages |
Abstract
Giant viruses are nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses (NCLDVs) that infect algae (phycodnaviruses) and amoebae (Mimivirus). We report an unexpected abundance in these giant viruses of islands of bacterial-type genes, including apparently intact prokaryotic mobile genetic elements, and hypothesize that NCLDV genomes undergo successive accretions of bacterial genes. The viruses could acquire bacterial genes within their bacteria-feeding eukaryotic hosts, and we suggest that such acquisition is driven by the intimate coupling of recombination and replication in NCLDVs.
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Authors
Jonathan Filée, Patricia Siguier, Mick Chandler,