Particle Morphology of Medusavirus Inside and Outside the Cells Reveals a New Maturation Process of Giant Viruses.

ABSTRACT: Medusavirus, a giant virus, is phylogenetically closer to eukaryotes than the other giant viruses and has been recently classified as an independent species. However, details of its morphology and maturation process in host cells remain unclear. Here, we investigated the particle morphology of medusavirus inside and outside infected cells using conventional transmission electron microscopy (C-TEM) and cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). The C-TEM of amoebae infected with the medusavirus showed four types of particles, i.e., pseudo-DNA-empty (p-Empty), DNA-empty (Empty), semi-DNA-full (s-Full), and DNA-full (Full). Time-dependent changes in the four types of particles and their intracellular localization suggested a new maturation process for the medusavirus. Viral capsids and viral DNAs ar

SUBMITTER: Watanabe R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9006890 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature