Cryptic infection of a giant virus in a unicellular green alga.

ABSTRACT: Latency is a common strategy in a wide range of viral lineages, but its prevalence in giant viruses remains unknown. In this work, we describe a 617-kilo-base pairs integrated giant viral element in the model green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. We resolved the integrated viral genome using long-read sequencing, identified a putative polintovirus-like integrase, and show that viral particles accumulate primarily during the stationary growth phase. A diverse array of viral-encoded selfish genetic elements is expressed during viral activity, including several Fanzor nuclease-encoding transposable elements. In addition, we show that field isolates of Chlamydomonas spp. harbor signatures of endogenous giant viruses related to the C. reinhardtii virus that exhibit similar

SUBMITTER: Erazo-Garcia MP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12147526 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature