title: The place of viruses in biology in light of the metabolism- versus-replication-first debate.
abstract: The last decade has seen a revival of old virocentric ideas. These concepts are heterogeneous, extending from proposals that consider viruses functionally as living beings and/or as descendants of viral lineages that preceded cell evolution to other claims that consider viruses and/or some viral families a fourth domain of life. While the debates about whether viruses are alive or not and whether some virus-like replicators preceded the first cells fall under the long-lasting dichotomous view on the nature and origin of life (metabolism- versus replication-first), the claim that some giant viruses form a fourth domain in an organismal tree of life is not consistent with current evidence and can be falsified.
authors: Unité d'Ecologie, Systématique et Evolution, CNRS UMR8079, Université Paris-Sud, 91405 Orsay, France.
authors: Purificación
authors: P
authors: López-García
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D022761:Gene Transfer, Horizontal / Q000235:genetics*; D005814:Genes, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D000069497:Origin of Life; D010802:Phylogeny; D014779:Virus Replication / Q000235:genetics*; D014780:Viruses / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*