title: Giants among larges: how gigantism impacts giant virus entry into amoebae.
abstract: The proposed order Megavirales comprises the nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses (NCLDV), infecting a wide range of hosts. Over time, they co-evolved with different host cells, developing various strategies to penetrate them. Mimiviruses and other giant viruses enter cells through phagocytosis, while Marseillevirus and other large viruses explore endocytosis and macropinocytosis. These differing strategies might reflect the evolution of those viruses. Various scenarios have been proposed for the origin and evolution of these viruses, presenting one of the most enigmatic issues to surround these microorganisms. In this context, we believe that giant viruses evolved independently by massive gene/size gain, exploring the phagocytic pathway of entry into amoebas. In response to gigantism, hosts developed mechanisms to evade these parasites.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Vírus, Departamento de Microbiologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas (ICB), Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brasil (UFMG), Postal code 486, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rodrigo Araújo Lima
authors.initials: RAL
authors.lastname: Rodrigues
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Vírus, Departamento de Microbiologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas (ICB), Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brasil (UFMG), Postal code 486, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Jônatas Santos
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Abrahão
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Vírus, Departamento de Microbiologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas (ICB), Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brasil (UFMG), Postal code 486, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Betânia Paiva
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Drumond
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Vírus, Departamento de Microbiologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas (ICB), Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brasil (UFMG), Postal code 486, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Electronic address: kroone@icb.ufmg.br.
authors.forename: Erna Geessien
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Kroon
mesh_terms: D000048:Acanthamoeba / Q000821:virology*; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D000072139:Giant Viruses / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism*; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions / Q000502:physiology*; D056686:Mimiviridae / Q000378:metabolism; D010873:Pinocytosis / Q000502:physiology*; D053586:Virus Internalization
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral