title: Complete genome sequence of Courdo11 virus, a member of the family Mimiviridae.
abstract: Giant viruses of amoebae were discovered 10 years ago and led to the description of two new viral families: Mimiviridae and Marseilleviridae. These viruses exhibit remarkable features, including large capsids and genomes that are similar in size to those of small bacteria and their large genetic repertoires include genes that are unique among viruses. The family Mimiviridae has grown during the past decade since the discovery of its initial member, Mimivirus, and continues to expand. Here, we describe the genome of a new giant virus that infects Acanthamoeba spp., Courdo11 virus, isolated in 2010 by inoculating Acanthamoeba spp. with freshwater collected from a river in southeastern France. The Courdo11 virus genome is a double stranded DNA molecule composed of 1,245,674 nucleotides. The comparative analyses of Courdo11 virus with the genomes of other giant viruses showed that it belongs to lineage C of mimiviruses of amoebae, being most closely related to Megavirus chilensis and LBA 111, the first mimivirus isolated from a human. Major characteristics of the M. chilensis genome were identified in the Courdo11 virus genome, found to encode three more tRNAs. Genomic architecture comparisons mirrored previous findings that showed conservation of collinear regions in the middle part of the genome and diversity towards the extremities. Finally, fourteen ORFans were identified in the Courdo11 virus genome, suggesting that the pan-genome of mimiviruses of amoeba might reach a plateau.
authors.affiliation: Unité de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198, INSERM U1095, Facultés de Médecine et de Pharmacie, Aix-Marseille Univ., 27 Boulevard Jean Moulin, 13385, Marseille Cedex 05, France.
authors.forename: Niyaz
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yoosuf
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pagnier
authors.forename: Ghislain
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fournous
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Robert
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: La Scola
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Raoult
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Colson
mesh_terms: D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D016679:Genome, Viral; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D056686:Mimiviridae / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010802:Phylogeny; D012343:RNA, Transfer / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D012343:RNA, Transfer