Mavirus

Mavirus is a genus of double stranded DNA virus that can infect the marine phagotrophic flagellate Cafeteria roenbergensis, but only in the presence of the giant CroV virus (Cafeteria roenbergensis).^[2] The genus contains only one species, Cafeteriavirus-dependent mavirus. Mavirus can integrate into the genome of cells of C. roenbergensis, and thereby confer immunity to the population ^[3]

Cafeteriavirus-dependent mavirus
The virophage Mavirus (lower left) with its associated giant virus CroV [1]
Virus classification
(unranked):	Virus
Realm:	Varidnaviria
Kingdom:	Bamfordvirae
Phylum:	Preplasmiviricota
Class:	Maveriviricetes
Order:	Priklausovirales
Family:	Lavidaviridae
Genus:	Mavirus
Species:	Cafeteriavirus-dependent mavirus

The name is derived from Maverick virus.

The virophage was discovered by Matthias G. Fischer of the University of British Columbia while he was working on Cafeteria roenbergensis virus as part of his PhD.

Virology

The genome is 19,063 bases long and encodes 20 predicted coding sequences. Seven have homology to the Maverick/Polinton family of transposons.^[2]

The genome encodes a retroviral integrase, an adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase), a cysteine protease and a protein primed DNA polymerase B.^{[citation needed]}

Classification

Mavirus is a genus in the family Lavidaviridae, which has been established by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses in 2016.^[4]

References

1. Duponchel, S. and Fischer, M.G. (2019) "Viva lavidaviruses! Five features of virophages that parasitize giant DNA viruses". PLoS pathogens, 15(3). doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1007592. Material was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
2. Fischer MG, Suttle CA (April 2011). "A virophage at the origin of large DNA transposons". Science. 332 (6026): 231–4. Bibcode:2011Sci...332..231F. doi:10.1126/science.1199412. PMID 21385722. S2CID 206530677.
3. Fischer MG, Hackl (December 2016). "Host genome integration and giant virus-induced reactivation of the virophage mavirus". Nature. 540 (7632): 288–91. Bibcode:2016Natur.540..288F. doi:10.1038/nature20593. PMID 27929021. S2CID 4458402.
4. Krupovic, M; Kuhn, JH; Fischer, MG (January 2016). "A classification system for virophages and satellite viruses" (PDF). Archives of Virology. 161 (1): 233–47. doi:10.1007/s00705-015-2622-9. PMID 26446887.