2021年6月7日
Discovery of Viral Myosin Genes With Complex Evolutionary History Within Plankton
Frontiers in Microbiology
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- 巻
- 12
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- 記述言語
- 英語
- 掲載種別
- 研究論文(学術雑誌)
- DOI
- 10.3389/fmicb.2021.683294
- 出版者・発行元
- Frontiers Media SA
Nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses (NCLDVs) infect diverse eukaryotes and form a group of viruses with capsids encapsulating large genomes. Recent studies are increasingly revealing a spectacular array of functions encoded in their genomes, including genes for energy metabolisms, nutrient uptake, as well as cytoskeleton. Here, we report the discovery of genes homologous to myosins, the major eukaryotic motor proteins previously unrecognized in the virosphere, in environmental genomes of NCLDVs from the surface of the oceans. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that most viral myosins (named “virmyosins”) belong to the <italic>Imitervirales</italic> order, except for one belonging to the <italic>Phycodnaviridae</italic> family. On the one hand, the phylogenetic positions of virmyosin-encoding <italic>Imitervirales</italic> are scattered within the <italic>Imitervirales</italic>. On the other hand, <italic>Imitervirales</italic> virmyosin genes form a monophyletic group in the phylogeny of diverse myosin sequences. Furthermore, phylogenetic trends for the virmyosin genes and viruses containing them were incongruent. Based on these results, we argue that multiple transfers of myosin homologs have occurred not only from eukaryotes to viruses but also between viruses, supposedly during co-infections of the same host. Like other viruses that use host motor proteins for their intracellular transport or motility, these viruses may use the virally encoded myosins for the intracellular trafficking of giant viral particles.
- リンク情報
- ID情報
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- DOI : 10.3389/fmicb.2021.683294
- eISSN : 1664-302X