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Review
. 2023 Apr 20;15(4):1015.
doi: 10.3390/v15041015.

Asfarviruses and Closely Related Giant Viruses

Affiliations
Review

Asfarviruses and Closely Related Giant Viruses

Sihem Hannat et al. Viruses. .

Abstract

Acanthamoeba polyphaga mimivirus, so called because of its "mimicking microbe", was discovered in 2003 and was the founding member of the first family of giant viruses isolated from amoeba. These giant viruses, present in various environments, have opened up a previously unexplored field of virology. Since 2003, many other giant viruses have been isolated, founding new families and taxonomical groups. These include a new giant virus which was isolated in 2015, the result of the first co-culture on Vermamoeba vermiformis. This new giant virus was named "Faustovirus". Its closest known relative at that time was African Swine Fever Virus. Pacmanvirus and Kaumoebavirus were subsequently discovered, exhibiting phylogenetic clustering with the two previous viruses and forming a new group with a putative common ancestor. In this study, we aimed to summarise the main features of the members of this group of giant viruses, including Abalone Asfarvirus, African Swine Fever Virus, Faustovirus, Pacmanvirus, and Kaumoebavirus.

Keywords: Asfarviridae; Faustovirus; Kaumoebavirus; Nucleo-Cytoplasmic Large DNA Viruses (NCLDVs); Nucleocytoviricota; Pacmanvirus.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Genome synteny between Abalone Asfarvirus genome and the ASFV-BA71V genome. Schematic genome alignment obtained using the Mauve software [102]. The analysis was performed using the genome of Abalone Asfarvirus (LC637659.1), draft genome and ASFV strain BA71V (NC_001659.2). The blocks illustrated above the x axis are in the positive strand (forward sense), while blocks below the x axis are in the negative strand (reverse sense). The names of each virus are indicated below the sequence. The connected lines represent the relatively similar blocks between the genomes.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Phylogenetic tree based on the DNA polymerase homologs of Asfarviridae and relative viruses. ASFV contains 38 DNA polymerase sequences. Protein alignment was performed using Mafft software (v7.471) with standard parameters. The tree was built using IQ-TREE 1.6.12 with LG + F + I + G4 as best-fit model and 10,000 ultrafast bootstrap replication. Poxviridae sequences were used as an outgroup.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Mauve alignment genome of some Asfarviridae and other related viruses. Schematic genome alignment obtained using the Mauve software [102]. The analysis was performed using the genome of ASFV strain BA71V (NC_001659.2), Abalone Asfarvirus (LC637659.1), Faustovirus E12 (KJ614390.1), Pacmanvirus (LT706986.1) and Kaumoebavirus (KX552040.1). The blocks illustrated above the x axis are in the positive strand (forward sense), while blocks below the x axis are in the negative strand (reverse sense). Names of each virus are indicated below the sequence. The connected lines represent the relatively similar blocks between the genomes.

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Publication types

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the French Government under the “Investments for the Future” program managed by the National Agency for Research (ANR), Méditerranée Infection 10-IAHU-03 and was also supported by Région Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and European funding ERDF PRIMMI (European Regional Development Fund—Plateformes de Recherche et d’Innovation Mutualisées Méditerranée Infection).

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