title: PH1: an archaeovirus of Haloarcula hispanica related to SH1 and HHIV-2.
abstract: Halovirus PH1 infects Haloarcula hispanica and was isolated from an Australian salt lake. The burst size in single-step growth conditions was 50-100 PFU/cell, but cell density did not decrease until well after the rise (4-6 hr p.i.), indicating that the virus could exit without cell lysis. Virions were round, 51 nm in diameter, displayed a layered capsid structure, and were sensitive to chloroform and lowered salt concentration. The genome is linear dsDNA, 28,064 bp in length, with 337 bp terminal repeats and terminal proteins, and could transfect haloarchaeal species belonging to five different genera. The genome is predicted to carry 49 ORFs, including those for structural proteins, several of which were identified by mass spectroscopy. The close similarity of PH1 to SH1 (74% nucleotide identity) allowed a detailed description and analysis of the differences (divergent regions) between the two genomes, including the detection of repeat-mediated deletions. The relationship of SH1-like and pleolipoviruses to previously described genomic loci of virus and plasmid-related elements (ViPREs) of haloarchaea revealed an extensive level of recombination between the known haloviruses. PH1 is a member of the same virus group as SH1 and HHIV-2, and we propose the name halosphaerovirus to accommodate these viruses.
authors.affiliation: Biota Holdings Limited, 10/585 Blackburn Road, Notting Hill, VIC 3168, Australia.
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Porter
authors.forename: Sen-Lin
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Chung-Pin
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Pei-Wen
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Chiang
authors.forename: Mei-Jhu
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Mike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dyall-Smith
mesh_terms: D023641:Archaeal Viruses / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D001315:Australia; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D016679:Genome, Viral; D019613:Haloarcula / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000821:virology*; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D014771:Virion / Q000648:ultrastructure; D014871:Water Microbiology
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D014764:Viral Proteins