Mavirus

Mavirus
The virophage Mavirus (lower left) with its associated giant virus CroV [1]
Virus classification
(unranked):	Virus
Realm:	Varidnaviria
Kingdom:	Bamfordvirae
Phylum:	Preplasmiviricota
Class:	Virophaviricetes
Order:	Lavidavirales
Family:	Maviroviridae
Genus:	Mavirus
Species:	Mavirus cafeteriae

Mavirus is a genus of double stranded DNA virus that can infect the marine phagotrophic flagellate Cafeteria roenbergensis , but only in the presence of the giant CroV virus (Cafeteria roenbergensis). ^[2] The genus contains only one species: Mavirus cafeteriae. Mavirus can integrate into the genome of cells of C. roenbergensis, and thereby confer immunity to the population ^[3]

The name is derived from Maverick virus.

The virophage was discovered by Matthias G. Fischer of the University of British Columbia while he was working on Cafeteria roenbergensis virus as part of his PhD.

Virology

The genome is 19,063 bases long and encodes 20 predicted coding sequences. Seven have homology to the Maverick/Polinton family of transposons. ^[2]

The genome encodes a retroviral integrase, an adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase), a cysteine protease ^[1] and a protein primed DNA polymerase B. ^[2]

Classification

Mavirus is the sole genus in the family Maviroviridae, which is the sole family in the order Lavidavirales. ^[4] Lavidavirales is in the class Virophaviricetes, which contains all virophages. ^[5]

References

1. Duponchel, S. and Fischer, M.G. (2019) "Viva lavidaviruses! Five features of virophages that parasitize giant DNA viruses". PLoS pathogens, 15(3). doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1007592 . Material was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
2. Fischer MG, Suttle CA (April 2011). "A virophage at the origin of large DNA transposons". Science. 332 (6026): 231–4. Bibcode:2011Sci...332..231F. doi:10.1126/science.1199412. PMID   21385722. S2CID   206530677.
3. Fischer MG, Hackl (December 2016). "Host genome integration and giant virus-induced reactivation of the virophage mavirus". Nature. 540 (7632): 288–91. Bibcode:2016Natur.540..288F. doi:10.1038/nature20593. PMID   27929021. S2CID   4458402.
4. "Virus Taxonomy: 2024 Release". International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
5. Koonin EV, Fischer MG, Yutin N, Kuhn JH, Krupovic M (10 April 2024). "Reorganization of the realm Varidnaviria" (docx). International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses. Retrieved 16 March 2025.