Varidnaviria | |
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A ribbon diagram of the DJR-MCP of Pseudoalteromonas virus PM2 , with the two jelly roll folds colored in red and blue | |
Virus classification | |
(unranked): | Virus |
Realm: | Varidnaviria |
Subtaxa | |
Synonyms [1] [2] | |
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Varidnaviria is a realm of viruses that includes all DNA viruses that encode major capsid proteins that contain a vertical jelly roll fold. The major capsid proteins (MCP) form into pseudohexameric subunits of the viral capsid, which stores the viral deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), and are perpendicular, or vertical, to the surface of the capsid. Apart from this, viruses in the realm also share many other characteristics, such as minor capsid proteins (mCP) with the vertical jelly roll fold, an ATPase that packages viral DNA into the capsid, and a DNA polymerase that replicates the viral genome.
Varidnaviria was established in 2019 based on the shared characteristics of the viruses in the realm. There are two groups of viruses in Varidnaviria: viruses that have a double vertical jelly roll (DJR) folds in the MCP, assigned to the kingdom Bamfordvirae, and viruses that have a single vertical jelly roll (SJR) fold in the MCP, assigned to the kingdom Helvetiavirae. The DJR-MCP lineage is thought to be descended from the SJR-MCP lineage via a gene fusion event, and the SJR-MCP shows a close relation to nucleoplasmins, pointing to a possible origin of the realm's jelly roll fold MCP. Most identified eukaryotic DNA viruses belong to Varidnaviria.
Marine viruses in the realm are highly abundant worldwide and are important in marine ecology. Many animal viruses in the realm are associated with disease, including adenoviruses, poxviruses, and the African swine fever virus . Poxviruses have been prominent in the history of medicine, especially smallpox, caused by Variola virus, which was the target of the first vaccine and which later became the first disease eradicated. The realm also notably includes giant viruses that are physically larger and contain a much larger number of genes than typical viruses.
The name "Varidnaviria" is a portmanteau of various DNA viruses and the suffix -viria, which is the suffix used for virus realms. Double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) viruses in the realm are often called non-tailed or tailless dsDNA viruses to distinguish them from the tailed dsDNA viruses of Duplodnaviria. [1] [2]
Most viruses in Varidnaviria contain a capsid that is made of major capsid proteins that contain vertical single (SJR) or double jelly roll (DJR) folds. The major capsid proteins are named so because they are the primary proteins that the capsid is made of. A jelly roll fold is a type of folded structure in a protein in which eight antiparallel beta strands are organized into four antiparallel beta sheets in a layout resembling a jelly roll, also called a Swiss roll. Each beta strand is a specific sequence of amino acids, and these strands bond to their antiparallel strands via hydrogen bonds. The difference between SJR and DJR folds is that a DJR fold is simply two SJR folds in a single protein. Vertical folds are those that are perpendicular to the capsid surface, in contrast to horizontal folds that are parallel to the capsid surface. [2] [3] [4]
During the process of assembling the viral capsid, MCPs self-assemble into hexagonal structures, called hexons, containing multiple copies of the MCP. Hexons then bond to form the relatively flat triangular sides of the icosahedral capsid. All viruses in Varidnaviria that encode a DJR-MCP that have been analyzed in high resolution also encode a minor capsid protein (mCP) that contains an SJR fold. These mCPs assemble into pentagonal structures called pentons that form the pentagonal vertices of the icosahedral capsid. [3] [4] [5] [6]
Most members of the realm also encode genome packaging ATPases of the FtsK-HerA superfamily. The ATPases in Varidnaviria are enzymes that package the viral DNA into the capsid during the process of assembling virions. [2] FtsK is a family of proteins that contains a transmembrane protein with four membrane-spanning helices at the start of the protein's amino acid sequence and an ATPase with a P-loop fold at the end of the protein's amino acid sequence, and the HerA family is homologous to FtsK. [7] The exact function of the ATPase for some viruses in Varidnaviria is unclear since morphological features, such as the circular, supercoiled genome of Pseudoalteromonas virus PM2 , seemingly prohibit translocation by the ATPase of DNA from outside the capsid to the inside. [4] The subset of the FtsK-HerA superfamily found in Varidnaviria is often called the A32 clade, named after the ATPase-encoding A32(R) gene of Vaccinia virus. [7]
Apart from the core morphogenetic triad of genes, the MCP, mCP, and ATPase, certain other characteristics are common or unique in various lineages within Varidnaviria, listed hereafter.
It has been suggested that Varidnaviria predates the last universal common ancestor (LUCA) of cellular life and that viruses in the realm were present in the LUCA. [11] The vertical SJR-MCPs of Halopanivirales, assigned to the kingdom Helvetiavirae, unlike SJR folds found outside of Varidnaviria, show a relation to a group of proteins that includes the Cupin superfamily and nucleoplasmins, pointing to a possible origin of the major capsid protein of Varidnaviria among this group. [12] The DJR-MCP lineage, assigned to the kingdom Bamfordvirae, thereafter appears to have come into existence by means of a gene fusion event that merged the two SJR-MCPs into one, indicated by the two SJR-MCPs forming a lattice in the capsid that structurally resembles the DJR-MCP capsid lattice. [2] Archaeal dsDNA viruses in Portogloboviridae contain just one vertical SJR-MCP, which appears to have been duplicated to two for Halopanivirales, so the MCP of Portogloboviridae likely represents an earlier stage in the evolutionary history of Varidnaviria MCPs. [11] However, another scenario was later proposed in which the Bamfordvirae and Helvetiavirae kingdoms would originate independently suggesting that the Bamfordvirae DJR-MCP protein snow a relation with the bacterial DUF 2961 protein, leading to a revision of the realm Varidnaviria. It is possible that the Bamfordvirae DJR-MCP will evolve from this protein independently, however the origin of the DJR-MCP by duplication of the Helvetiavirae SJR-MCP cannot yet be ruled out. [13] A molecular phylogenetic analysis suggests that Helvetiavirae had no involvement in the origin of the Bamfordvirae DJR-MCP and that they probably derive from the class Tectiliviricetes . [14]
Viruses in Bamfordvirae appear to have made crossed from prokaryotes to eukaryotes early in eukaryotic history, via infection by a tectivirus or tectivirus-like virus of a bacterium that became a bacterial symbiont in a proto-eukaryote. [4] From there, based on phylogenetic analysis of the viral DNA polymerase and other characteristics, eukaryotic viruses in Bamfordvirae appear to have formed a complex relationship with various selfish genetic elements, including polintons, [note 3] a type of transposon, portions of DNA that can self-replicate and integrate themselves into other parts of the same DNA molecule, and certain types of plasmids, which are extra-chromosomal DNA molecules that self-replicate inside of the cell or organelle that they occupy. [5] [8] [15]
The initial bacterial symbiont is likely to have become mitochondria, with mitochondrial linear plasmids descended from tectiviruses remaining. [4] Another divergent lineage reached the nucleus and recombined with transposons, becoming polintons, which may have been the first eukaryotic viruses in Bamfordvirae or related to the first ones. [5] [15] [16] Polintons then gave rise to multiple lineages by various mechanisms. Among these lineages are full-fledged viruses, including adenoviruses and giant viruses, cytoplasmic linear plasmids, virophages, which are satellite viruses of giant viruses, transpovirons, which are linear plasmid-like DNA molecules found in giant viruses, and bidnaviruses via genetic recombination with a parvovirus, [5] [8] both of which are classified in the realm Monodnaviria. [17] However, this scenario was contradicted by a molecular phylogenetic analysis suggesting that tectiviruses and polintons had no involvement in the origin of eukaryotic viruses in Varidnaviria and that polintons are probably derived from these eukaryotic viruses. [14]
While the jelly roll fold is found in other realms, including the family Microviridae in Monodnaviria and various single-stranded RNA viruses in Riboviria, the jelly roll fold found in Varidnaviria is vertical, i.e. perpendicular to the capsid surface, contrary to the jelly roll folds in other realms, which are horizontal, i.e. parallel to the capsid surface. [4] In general, the other virus realms have no apparent relation based on common descent to Varidnaviria. [2]
Varidnaviria has two kingdoms: Bamfordvirae and Helvetiavirae, the latter of which is monotypic down to the rank of family. This taxonomy can be visualized as follows: [2] [17]
All recognized members of Varidnaviria belong to Group I: dsDNA viruses of the Baltimore classification system, which groups viruses together based on how they produce messenger RNA. The family Finnlakeviridae, a proposed family of Varidnaviria, belongs to Group II: ssDNA viruses and would be the only ssDNA virus in the realm. [2] Most identified DNA viruses that infect eukaryotes belong to Varidnaviria, [5] the other major lineages of eukaryotic DNA viruses being the order Herpesvirales , which infect animals, in Duplodnaviria, [18] and the class Papovaviricetes , which infect animals, in Monodnaviria. [19] Realms are the highest level of taxonomy used for viruses in and Varidnaviria is one of four, the other three being Duplodnaviria , Monodnaviria , and Riboviria . [17]
The unassigned family Portogloboviridae is a proposed family of the realm since its capsid proteins appear to be homologous to those of viruses in Varidnaviria. [11]
Another proposed group is the Naldaviricetes class (including Polydnaviridae ). These viruses encompass several genes that are distantly related to core genes of the Nucleocytoviricota and thus could be highly derived members of the DJR-MCP viruses, despite the absence of the DJR-MCP and formation of odd-shaped virions. Preliminary phylogenetic analysis of several essential genes that are shared by all these arthropod viruses and the Nucleocytoviricota, such as PolB, RNAP subunits, helicase-primase and thiol oxidoreductase, has suggested that this group of viruses might be a highly derived offshoot of the Nucleocytoviricota. [20] [21]
Bacteriophages in Varidnaviria are potentially a major cause of death among marine prokaryotes. This viewpoint is based on autolykiviruses having broad host ranges, infecting and killing many different strains of various bacteria species, in contrast to tailed bacteriophages, which have more limited host ranges, as well as on the apparently large number of marine non-tailed dsDNA viruses. [1] Algal viruses of the family Phycodnaviridae play an important role in controlling algal blooms as well as, with many marine viruses in general, contributing to a process called viral shunt, whereby organic material from killed organisms are "shunted" by viruses away from higher trophic levels and recycled for consumption by those at lower trophic levels. [22]
The most notable disease-causing viruses in Varidnaviria are adenoviruses, poxviruses, and the African swine fever virus (ASFV). Adenoviruses typically cause mild respiratory, gastrointestinal, and conjunctival illnesses, but occasionally cause more severe illnesses, such as hemorrhagic cystitis, hepatitis, and meningoencephalitis. [23] Poxviruses infect many animals and typically cause non-specific symptoms paired with a characteristic rash that is called a pox. Notable poxviruses include Variola virus , which causes smallpox, and Vaccinia virus , which is used as the vaccine against smallpox. [24] ASFV is usually asymptomatic in its natural reservoirs but causes a lethal hemorrhagic fever in domestic pigs that is a concern for agricultural production. [25]
Many viruses in Varidnaviria encode the enzyme integrase, allowing them to integrate their genome into their host and behave like transposons. The closely related polintons are apparently always endogenized in their hosts. This integration of viral DNA into the host's genome is a form of horizontal gene transfer between unrelated organisms, although polintons are typically transmitted vertically from parent to child. [8] [26] [27]
A peculiar example of endogenization in Varidnaviria are virophages, satellite viruses that are dependent on giant virus infection to replicate. Virophages replicate by hijacking the replication apparati of giant viruses, thereby suppressing the number of giant virus virions produced, increasing the likelihood of host survival. Some virophages are able to become endogenized, and this endogenization can be considered a form of adaptive immunity for the host against giant virus infection. [8] [26] [27]
Diseases caused by poxviruses have been known for much of recorded history. Smallpox in particular has been highly prominent in modern medicine; the first vaccine to be invented targeted smallpox, and smallpox would later become the first disease to be eradicated. [24] Human adenoviruses were the first DJR-MCP viruses in Varidnaviria to have their MCPs analyzed, standing out for having jelly roll folds that were perpendicular, rather than parallel, to the capsid surface. In 1999, the structure of the MCP of Pseudomonas virus PRD1 was resolved, showing that the DJR-MCP lineage included prokaryotic viruses. [4] Haloarcula hispanica virus SH1 would later, in 2003, become the first SJR-MCP virus discovered. [9]
Over time, the use of metagenomics has allowed for the identification of viruses in the environment even without identification of the host or laboratory specimens, leading to the discovery of many additional members of the realm. [10] [16] Morphological surveys of marine samples suggest that non-tailed dsDNA viruses may be more numerous than the tailed dsDNA viruses of Duplodnaviria, which, as of 2019, are the largest and most diverse lineage of viruses documented. [1] [4] With the increased knowledge of the viruses of the realm, Varidnaviria was established in 2019 based on the shared traits of viruses in the realm. [2]
The establishment of Varidnaviria has allowed for newly discovered and related, yet divergent, viruses to be classified in higher taxa. This includes proposed families such as Finnlakeviridae, which would be the only family in the realm with a single-stranded DNA genome, Autolykiviridae, which have a broad host range and which may play a major role in the deaths of marine bacteria, and the "Odin" group, which encode a protein that has no known relation to any other proteins in place of the FtsK-HerA superfamily ATPase. [2] [4] [10] In 2020, autolykiviruses were officially classified for the first time. [28]
A DNA virus is a virus that has a genome made of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) that is replicated by a DNA polymerase. They can be divided between those that have two strands of DNA in their genome, called double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) viruses, and those that have one strand of DNA in their genome, called single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) viruses. dsDNA viruses primarily belong to two realms: Duplodnaviria and Varidnaviria, and ssDNA viruses are almost exclusively assigned to the realm Monodnaviria, which also includes some dsDNA viruses. Additionally, many DNA viruses are unassigned to higher taxa. Reverse transcribing viruses, which have a DNA genome that is replicated through an RNA intermediate by a reverse transcriptase, are classified into the kingdom Pararnavirae in the realm Riboviria.
Virus classification is the process of naming viruses and placing them into a taxonomic system similar to the classification systems used for cellular organisms.
Baltimore classification is a system used to classify viruses based on their manner of messenger RNA (mRNA) synthesis. By organizing viruses based on their manner of mRNA production, it is possible to study viruses that behave similarly as a distinct group. Seven Baltimore groups are described that take into consideration whether the viral genome is made of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or ribonucleic acid (RNA), whether the genome is single- or double-stranded, and whether the sense of a single-stranded RNA genome is positive or negative.
Virophages are small, double-stranded DNA viral phages that require the co-infection of another virus. The co-infecting viruses are typically giant viruses. Virophages rely on the viral replication factory of the co-infecting giant virus for their own replication. One of the characteristics of virophages is that they have a parasitic relationship with the co-infecting virus. Their dependence upon the giant virus for replication often results in the deactivation of the giant viruses. The virophage may improve the recovery and survival of the host organism.
Mimivirus-dependent virus Sputnik is a subviral agent that reproduces in amoeba cells that are already infected by a certain helper virus; Sputnik uses the helper virus's machinery for reproduction and inhibits replication of the helper virus. It is known as a virophage, in analogy to the term bacteriophage.
Bidensovirus is a genus of single stranded DNA viruses that infect invertebrates. The species in this genus were originally classified in the family Parvoviridae but were moved to a new genus because of significant differences in the genomes.
A transpoviron is a plasmid-like genetic element found in the genomes of giant DNA viruses.
Tristromaviridae is a family of viruses. Archaea of the genera Thermoproteus and Pyrobaculum serve as natural hosts. Tristromaviridae is the sole family in the order Primavirales. There are two genera and three species in the family.
Mimivirus-dependent virus Zamilon, or Zamilon, is a virophage, a group of small DNA viruses that infect protists and require a helper virus to replicate; they are a type of satellite virus. Discovered in 2013 in Tunisia, infecting Acanthamoeba polyphaga amoebae, Zamilon most closely resembles Sputnik, the first virophage to be discovered. The name is Arabic for "the neighbour". Its spherical particle is 50–60 nm in diameter, and contains a circular double-stranded DNA genome of around 17 kb, which is predicted to encode 20 polypeptides. A related strain, Zamilon 2, has been identified in North America.
Polintons are large DNA transposons which contain genes with homology to viral proteins and which are often found in eukaryotic genomes. They were first discovered in the mid-2000s and are the largest and most complex known DNA transposons. Polintons encode up to 10 individual proteins and derive their name from two key proteins, a DNA polymerase and a retroviral-like integrase.
The jelly roll or Swiss roll fold is a protein fold or supersecondary structure composed of eight beta strands arranged in two four-stranded sheets. The name of the structure was introduced by Jane S. Richardson in 1981, reflecting its resemblance to the jelly or Swiss roll cake. The fold is an elaboration on the Greek key motif and is sometimes considered a form of beta barrel. It is very common in viral proteins, particularly viral capsid proteins. Taken together, the jelly roll and Greek key structures comprise around 30% of the all-beta proteins annotated in the Structural Classification of Proteins (SCOP) database.
Riboviria is a realm of viruses that includes all viruses that use a homologous RNA-dependent polymerase for replication. It includes RNA viruses that encode an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, as well as reverse-transcribing viruses that encode an RNA-dependent DNA polymerase. RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), also called RNA replicase, produces RNA from RNA. RNA-dependent DNA polymerase (RdDp), also called reverse transcriptase (RT), produces DNA from RNA. These enzymes are essential for replicating the viral genome and transcribing viral genes into messenger RNA (mRNA) for translation of viral proteins.
In virology, realm is the highest taxonomic rank established for viruses by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV), which oversees virus taxonomy. Six virus realms are recognized and united by specific highly conserved traits:
Duplodnaviria is a realm of viruses that includes all double-stranded DNA viruses that encode the HK97 fold major capsid protein. The HK97 fold major capsid protein is the primary component of the viral capsid, which stores the viral deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Viruses in the realm also share a number of other characteristics, such as an icosahedral capsid, an opening in the viral capsid called a portal, a protease enzyme that empties the inside of the capsid prior to DNA packaging, and a terminase enzyme that packages viral DNA into the capsid.
Monodnaviria is a realm of viruses that includes all single-stranded DNA viruses that encode an endonuclease of the HUH superfamily that initiates rolling circle replication of the circular viral genome. Viruses descended from such viruses are also included in the realm, including certain linear single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) viruses and circular double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) viruses. These atypical members typically replicate through means other than rolling circle replication.
Cressdnaviricota is a phylum of viruses with small, circular single-stranded DNA genomes and encoding rolling circle replication-initiation proteins with the N-terminal HUH endonuclease and C-terminal superfamily 3 helicase domains. While the replication-associated proteins are homologous among viruses within the phylum, the capsid proteins are very diverse and have presumably been acquired from RNA viruses on multiple independent occasions. Nevertheless, all cressdnaviruses for which structural information is available appear to contain the jelly-roll fold.
Bamfordvirae is a kingdom of viruses. This kingdom is recognized for its use of double jelly roll major capsid proteins. It was formerly known as the PRD1-adenovirus lineage. The kingdom is named after Dennis H. Bamford who first promoted the evolutionary unity of all viruses encoding double jelly-roll major capsid proteins.
An archaeal virus is a virus that infects and replicates in archaea, a domain of unicellular, prokaryotic organisms. Archaeal viruses, like their hosts, are found worldwide, including in extreme environments inhospitable to most life such as acidic hot springs, highly saline bodies of water, and at the bottom of the ocean. They have been also found in the human body. The first known archaeal virus was described in 1974 and since then, a large diversity of archaeal viruses have been discovered, many possessing unique characteristics not found in other viruses. Little is known about their biological processes, such as how they replicate, but they are believed to have many independent origins, some of which likely predate the last archaeal common ancestor (LACA).
Portogloboviridae is a family of dsDNA viruses that infect archaea. It is a proposed family of the realm Varidnaviria, but ICTV officially puts it as incertae sedis virus. Viruses in the family are related to Helvetiavirae. The capsid proteins of these viruses and their characteristics are of evolutionary importance for the origin of the other Varidnaviria viruses since they seem to retain primordial characters.
Adnaviria is a realm of viruses that includes archaeal viruses that have a filamentous virion and a linear, double-stranded DNA genome. The genome exists in A-form (A-DNA) and encodes a dimeric major capsid protein (MCP) that contains the SIRV2 fold, a type of alpha-helix bundle containing four helices. The virion consists of the genome encased in capsid proteins to form a helical nucleoprotein complex. For some viruses, this helix is surrounded by a lipid membrane called an envelope. Some contain an additional protein layer between the nucleoprotein helix and the envelope. Complete virions are long and thin and may be flexible or a stiff like a rod.