PLoS ONE (Jan 2014)

Zamilon, a novel virophage with Mimiviridae host specificity.

  • Morgan Gaia,
  • Samia Benamar,
  • Mondher Boughalmi,
  • Isabelle Pagnier,
  • Olivier Croce,
  • Philippe Colson,
  • Didier Raoult,
  • Bernard La Scola

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0094923
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9, no. 4
p. e94923

Abstract

Read online

Virophages, which are potentially important ecological regulators, have been discovered in association with members of the order Megavirales. Sputnik virophages target the Mimiviridae, Mavirus was identified with the Cafeteria roenbergensis virus, and virophage genomes reconstructed by metagenomic analyses may be associated with the Phycodnaviridae. Despite the fact that the Sputnik virophages were isolated with viruses belonging to group A of the Mimiviridae, they can grow in amoebae infected by Mimiviridae from groups A, B or C. In this study we describe Zamilon, the first virophage isolated with a member of group C of the Mimiviridae family. By co-culturing amoebae with purified Zamilon, we found that the virophage is able to multiply with members of groups B and C of the Mimiviridae family but not with viruses from group A. Zamilon has a 17,276 bp DNA genome that potentially encodes 20 genes. Most of these genes are closely related to genes from the Sputnik virophage, yet two are more related to Megavirus chiliensis genes, a group B Mimiviridae, and one to Moumouvirus monve transpoviron.