麻豆传媒

The discovery of a megavirus is confirmation that giant viruses descended from complex cells that became simpler.

Since the discovery of the first giant virus, mimivirus, in 2003, researchers have debated how they evolved. Unlike conventional viruses, mimivirus carries many genes thought to be unique to cellular life, suggesting that it evolved from a cell. But it could also have stolen those genes from cells that it infected.

The new giant virus, dubbed megavirus, is 7 per cent larger than mimivirus. It was found by of the Structural and Genomic Information Laboratory in Marseille, France. It is a distant relative of mimivirus, sharing all its cell-like genes. Claverie says this is 鈥渄efinitive proof鈥� of a cellular ancestor.

Journal reference: , DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1110889108