Cryptic infection of a giant virus in a unicellular green alga
Erazo-Garcia, M.P.; Sheyn, U.; Barth, Z.K.; Craig, R.J.; Wessman, P.; Jivaji, A.M.; Ray, W.K.; Svensson-Coelho, M.; Cornwallis, C.K.; Rengefors, K.; Brussaard, C.P.D.; Moniruzzaman, M.; Aylward, F.O. (2025). Cryptic infection of a giant virus in a unicellular green alga. Science (Wash.) 388(6748): eads6303. https://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.ads6303
In: Science (Washington). American Association for the Advancement of Science: New York, N.Y. ISSN 0036-8075; e-ISSN 1095-9203, more
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| Keyword |
Chlamydomonas Ehrenberg, 1833 [WoRMS]
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| Authors | | Top |
- Erazo-Garcia, M.P.
- Sheyn, U.
- Barth, Z.K.
- Craig, R.J.
- Wessman, P.
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- Jivaji, A.M.
- Ray, W.K.
- Svensson-Coelho, M.
- Cornwallis, C.K.
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- Rengefors, K.
- Brussaard, C.P.D., more
- Moniruzzaman, M.
- Aylward, F.O.
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| Abstract |
Species of the green alga Chlamydomonas have long been used as a model organism for eukaryote biology and photosynthesis. Only recently has this alga been discovered to be host to a giant, 617,000–base pair DNA virus that is integrated into the algal genome. Using long-read sequencing, Erazo-Garcia et al. found that this giant endogenous viral element can produce active virus particles from apparently healthy algal cultures and in wild populations. The widespread presence of virus relicts hints that virus integration is common in this alga and that selection is acting to deactivate them. This giant virus contains several RNA-guided nucleases that are encoded by mobile sequences and, along with other proteins, these nucleases are packaged into its particles |
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