title: Draft genome sequences of Terra1 and Terra2 viruses, new members of the family Mimiviridae isolated from soil.
abstract: Since the discovery of Mimivirus, the founding member of the family Mimiviridae, three lineages, A-C, have been delineated among the mimiviruses of amoebae. To date, all giant viruses with annotated genomes have been isolated from water samples. Here, we describe the genome of two mimiviruses, Terra1 virus and Terra2 virus, which were recovered by co-culturing on Acanthamoeba spp. from soil samples. These genomes are predicted to harbor 1055 and 890 genes, respectively. Comparative genomics and phylogenomics show that Terra1 virus and Terra2 virus are classified within lineages C and A of the amoebae-associated mimiviruses, respectively. The genomic architecture of both viruses show conserved collinear central regions flanked by less conserved areas towards the extremities, when compared with other mimivirus genomes. A cluster of genes that are orthologous to bacterial genes and have no counterpart in other viral genomes except in lineage C mimiviruses was identified in Terra1 virus.
authors.affiliation: Aix-Marseille Univ., Unité de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), UM63 CNRS 7278 IRD 198 INSERM U1095, Facultés de Médecine et de Pharmacie, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Niyaz
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yoosuf
authors.affiliation: Aix-Marseille Univ., Unité de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), UM63 CNRS 7278 IRD 198 INSERM U1095, Facultés de Médecine et de Pharmacie, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pagnier
authors.affiliation: Aix-Marseille Univ., Unité de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), UM63 CNRS 7278 IRD 198 INSERM U1095, Facultés de Médecine et de Pharmacie, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Ghislain
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fournous
authors.affiliation: Aix-Marseille Univ., Unité de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), UM63 CNRS 7278 IRD 198 INSERM U1095, Facultés de Médecine et de Pharmacie, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Robert
authors.affiliation: Aix-Marseille Univ., Unité de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), UM63 CNRS 7278 IRD 198 INSERM U1095, Facultés de Médecine et de Pharmacie, Marseille, France; Fondation IHU Méditerranée Infection, Pôle des Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Clinique et Biologique, Fédération de Bactériologie-Hygiène-Virologie, Centre Hospitalo-Universitaire Timone, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Marseille, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Raoult
authors.affiliation: Aix-Marseille Univ., Unité de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), UM63 CNRS 7278 IRD 198 INSERM U1095, Facultés de Médecine et de Pharmacie, Marseille, France; Fondation IHU Méditerranée Infection, Pôle des Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Clinique et Biologique, Fédération de Bactériologie-Hygiène-Virologie, Centre Hospitalo-Universitaire Timone, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Marseille, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: La Scola
authors.affiliation: Aix-Marseille Univ., Unité de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), UM63 CNRS 7278 IRD 198 INSERM U1095, Facultés de Médecine et de Pharmacie, Marseille, France; Fondation IHU Méditerranée Infection, Pôle des Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Clinique et Biologique, Fédération de Bactériologie-Hygiène-Virologie, Centre Hospitalo-Universitaire Timone, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Marseille, Marseille, France. Electronic address: philippe.colson@univ-amu.fr.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Colson
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D016679:Genome, Viral; D056686:Mimiviridae / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D012988:Soil Microbiology
keywords: Acanthamoeba; Amoeba; Environment; Giant virus; Mimivirus; Soil; Terra1 virus; Terra2 virus; “Megavirales”