Ocean Explorers Find Largest Virus Ever Seen, 20 Times Bigger than the Average Bug - MeraForum Community.No 1 Pakistani Forum Community

MeraForum Community.No 1 Pakistani Forum Community

link| link| link
MeraForum Community.No 1 Pakistani Forum Community » The World of Information » Science & Technology » Medicine » Ocean Explorers Find Largest Virus Ever Seen, 20 Times Bigger than the Average Bug
Medicine Share information about medicines

Advertisement
Post New Thread  Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
(#1)
Old
eXquisite Inception eXquisite Inception is offline
Caught In The Riptide ~
 


Posts: 2,520
My Photos: ()
Country:
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: In The Moonlight ~
Gender: Male
Default Ocean Explorers Find Largest Virus Ever Seen, 20 Times Bigger than the Average Bug - >>   Show Printable Version  Show Printable Version   Email this Page  Email this Page   10-12-2011, 08:19 AM

Ocean Explorers Find Largest Virus Ever Seen, 20 Times Bigger than the Average Bug
By Rebecca Boyle


Megavirus vs. Mimivirus Top row: Megavirus (E) and Mimivirus (F) early-stage virion factories with the seeds at their centers. Bottom row: Megavirus (G) and Mimivirus (H) mature virion factories seen in full production. PNAS

You never know exactly what you’ll find when you go churning up muck, but apparently odds are pretty good you’ll find some viruses. The other day we heard how raw sewage is a hotbed of unknown viruses; now a French team has found the largest virus ever, living in the sea off the coast of Chile.

Named Megavirus chilensis, it barely beats the previous record-holder, Mimivirus, as the world’s most giant virus. It’s a linear double-stranded DNA molecule with 1,259,197 base pairs — by far the biggest viral genome ever discovered. Its complex genome gives it some abilities, like protein translation, that overlap with simple cellular organisms like parasitic bacteria, according to the researchers who found it. Viruses aren’t cellular organisms; they need to invade other cells and hijack their machinery to produce new versions of themselves.

It is so large that it can be seen with a regular light microscope rather than an electron microscope, as Jean-Michel Claverie of Aix-Marseille University in Marseille, France, told the BBC.

It has several DNA-repair enzymes, which allow it to correct damage due to ultraviolet light, radiation or chemicals, Claverie and colleagues say. Its cell-like genes may be a holdover from an ancestor it shares with Mimivirus, which may have gotten its genes from a cell.

Like Mimivirus, Megavirus infects amoebas, single-celled organisms that live in water. Also like Mimivirus, Megavirus employs a Stargate structure (really its name) to invade a host cell. The opening of this five-pronged structure triggers the release of the virus’ genetic material.

Megavirus turned up in an exploration trawl off the coast of Las Cruces in central Chile. Mimivirus was isolated from a water cooling tower in the UK in 1992, BBC says.

Anyone with an interest in its phylogeny can check out the genome browser, available here. The paper is published in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

 



I'm standing on the edge of me.
Reply With Quote Share on facebook
Sponsored Links
Post New Thread  Reply

Bookmarks

Tags
average, bigger, bug, explorers, find, largest, ocean, times, virus

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
How One Can Find autorun.inf Virus And Fix It Up Morash Discuss Your Pc Problems 9 07-01-2013 08:46 PM
Average Penguin Height Haadi Jokes 9 09-07-2012 12:32 PM
Think BIGGER pakipace Pics And Images 12 12-14-2011 11:11 AM
Girl Meets Bug - Insects Eating Contest (¯*♥¤»ƙɧՄՏɧՅԾԾ«¤♥*¯) Pics And Images 22 11-26-2011 08:59 PM
"In tough times U will find 'two' hands eagerly waiting 2 help U, Ghuncha English Sms 8 10-22-2011 01:19 AM


All times are GMT +5. The time now is 06:58 AM.
Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.

All the logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. All stuff found on this site is posted by members / users and displayed here as they are believed to be in the "public domain". If you are the rightful owner of any content posted here, and object to them being displayed, please contact us and it will be removed promptly.

Nav Item BG