Virology, Nebraska Center for
Date of this Version
2012
Citation
Published in Trends in Plant Science 17:1 (January 2012), pp. 1-8. DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2011.10.005
Abstract
Viruses infecting higher plants are among the smallest viruses known and typically have four to ten protein-encoding genes. By contrast, many viruses that infect algae (classified in the virus family Phycodnaviridae) are among the largest viruses found to date and have up to 600 protein- encoding genes. This brief review focuses on one group of plaque-forming phycodnaviruses that infect unicellular chlorella-like green algae. The prototype chlorovirus PBCV-1 has more than 400 protein-encoding genes and 11 tRNA genes. About 40% of the PBCV-1 encoded proteins resemble proteins of known function including many that are completely unexpected for a virus. In many respects, chlorovirus infection resembles bacterial infection by tailed bacteriophages.
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Comments
Copyright © 2012, Cell Press/Elsevier. Used by permission.