Medusavirus
Medusavirus is a nucleocytoplasmic large DNA virus first isolated from a Japanese hot spring in 2019.[1] It notably encodes all five types of histones — H1, H2A, H2B, H3, and H4 — which are involved in DNA packaging in eukaryotes, arising a possibility that they may have been involved in the origin of eukaryotes.[1] The virus can harden amoebas of the species Acanthamoeba castellanii into stone-like cysts, but infection usually causes infected amoebas to burst open.[2] The virus was named after Medusa, the monster in Greek mythology whose gaze turned people to stone.[2]
| Medusavirus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 3D reconstruction of the "Medusavirus" particle showcases its thousands of external spikes | |
Virus classification  | |
| (unranked): | Virus |
| Realm: | incertae sedis |
| Kingdom: | incertae sedis |
| Phylum: | incertae sedis |
| Class: | incertae sedis |
| Order: | incertae sedis |
| Family: | Medusaviridae |
| Genus: | Medusavirus |
References
- Yoshikawa, Genki; Blanc-Mathieu, Romain; Song, Chihong; Kayama, Yoko; Mochizuki, Tomohiro; Murata, Kazuyoshi; Ogata, Hiroyuki; Takemura, Masaharu (2019). "Medusavirus, a novel large DNA virus discovered from hot spring water". Journal of Virology. 93 (8). doi:10.1128/JVI.02130-18. PMC 6450098. PMID 30728258.
- "The giant Medusavirus turns defenceless cells to 'stone'". Nature. 566 (7745): 429. 2019. Bibcode:2019Natur.566R.429.. doi:10.1038/d41586-019-00591-2. S2CID 71147268.
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