title: Promoter Motifs in NCLDVs: An Evolutionary Perspective.
abstract: For many years, gene expression in the three cellular domains has been studied in an attempt to discover sequences associated with the regulation of the transcription process. Some specific transcriptional features were described in viruses, although few studies have been devoted to understanding the evolutionary aspects related to the spread of promoter motifs through related viral families. The discovery of giant viruses and the proposition of the new viral order Megavirales that comprise a monophyletic group, named nucleo-cytoplasmic large DNA viruses (NCLDV), raised new questions in the field. Some putative promoter sequences have already been described for some NCLDV members, bringing new insights into the evolutionary history of these complex microorganisms. In this review, we summarize the main aspects of the transcription regulation process in the three domains of life, followed by a systematic description of what is currently known about promoter regions in several NCLDVs. We also discuss how the analysis of the promoter sequences could bring new ideas about the giant viruses' evolution. Finally, considering a possible common ancestor for the NCLDV group, we discussed possible promoters' evolutionary scenarios and propose the term "MEGA-box" to designate an ancestor promoter motif ('TATATAAAATTGA') that could be evolved gradually by nucleotides' gain and loss and point mutations.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Vírus, Departamento de Microbiologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-901, Minas Gerais, Brazil. graziufmg@yahoo.com.br.
authors.forename: Graziele Pereira
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Vírus, Departamento de Microbiologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-901, Minas Gerais, Brazil. ana.andrade2008@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Ana Cláudia Dos Santos Pereira
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Andrade
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Vírus, Departamento de Microbiologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-901, Minas Gerais, Brazil. rodriguesral07@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Rodrigo Araújo Lima
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Rodrigues
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Vírus, Departamento de Microbiologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-901, Minas Gerais, Brazil. tsarantes@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Thalita Souza
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Arantes
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Vírus, Departamento de Microbiologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-901, Minas Gerais, Brazil. pvboratto@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Paulo Victor Miranda
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Boratto
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Vírus, Departamento de Microbiologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-901, Minas Gerais, Brazil. ludmilakaren@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ludmila Karen Dos Santos
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Vírus, Departamento de Microbiologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-901, Minas Gerais, Brazil. fabiopiod154@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Fábio Pio
authors.initials: FP
authors.lastname: Dornas
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Vírus, Departamento de Microbiologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-901, Minas Gerais, Brazil. gitrindade@yahoo.com.br.
authors.forename: Giliane de Souza
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Trindade
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Vírus, Departamento de Microbiologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-901, Minas Gerais, Brazil. betaniadrumond@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Betânia Paiva
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Drumond
authors.affiliation: Unité de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE) UM63 CNRS 7278 IRD 198 INSERM U1095, Aix-Marseille Université., 27 Boulevard Jean Moulin, Faculté de Médecine, 13385 Marseille Cedex 05, France. bernard.la-scola@univ-amu.fr.
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: La Scola
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Vírus, Departamento de Microbiologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-901, Minas Gerais, Brazil. ernagkroon@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Erna Geessien
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Kroon
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Vírus, Departamento de Microbiologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-901, Minas Gerais, Brazil. jonatas.abrahao@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Jônatas Santos
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Abrahão
mesh_terms: D000072139:Giant Viruses / Q000235:genetics*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
keywords: MEGA-box; NCLDV; evolution; giant viruses; megavirales; promoter; transcription