Virophages, polintons, and transpovirons: a complex evolutionary network of diverse selfish genetic elements with different reproduction strategies.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Recent advances of genomics and metagenomics reveal remarkable diversity of viruses and other selfish genetic elements. In particular, giant viruses have been shown to possess their own mobilomes that include virophages, small viruses that parasitize on giant viruses of the Mimiviridae family, and transpovirons, distinct linear plasmids. One of the virophages known as the Mavirus, a parasite of the giant Cafeteria roenbergensis virus, shares several genes with large eukaryotic self-replicating transposon of the Polinton (Maverick) family, and it has been proposed that the polintons evolved from a Mavirus-like ancestor.

Results

We performed a comprehensive phylogenomic analysis of the available genomes of virophages and traced the evolutionary connections between t

SUBMITTER: Yutin N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3671162 | biostudies-literature | 2013 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature