Global Organization and Proposed Megataxonomy of the Virus World.

ABSTRACT: Viruses and mobile genetic elements are molecular parasites or symbionts that coevolve with nearly all forms of cellular life. The route of virus replication and protein expression is determined by the viral genome type. Comparison of these routes led to the classification of viruses into seven "Baltimore classes" (BCs) that define the major features of virus reproduction. However, recent phylogenomic studies identified multiple evolutionary connections among viruses within each of the BCs as well as between different classes. Due to the modular organization of virus genomes, these relationships defy simple representation as lines of descent but rather form complex networks. Phylogenetic analyses of virus hallmark genes combined with analyses of gene-sharing networks show that replication

SUBMITTER: Koonin EV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7062200 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature