mimivirus

Pandoravirus, bigger and unlike anything seen before

29 Comments / Basic virology, Information / By

The discovery of the giant Mimivirus and Megavirus amazed virologists (and also many others). Their virions (750 nanometers) and DNA genomes (1,259,000 base pairs) were the biggest ever discovered, shattering the notions that viruses could not be seen with a light microscope, and that viral genomes were smaller than bacterial genomes. Now two even bigger viruses have been discovered, …

Pandoravirus, bigger and unlike anything seen before Read More »

The largest viral genome from a human

8 Comments / Basic virology, Information / By

The biggest known viruses are Mimivirus (750 nanometer capsid, 1.2 million base pair DNA) and Megavirus (680 nanometer capsid, 1.3 million base pair DNA). These giant viruses have all been isolated from environmental samples, and many infect amoebae. A new Mimivirus has now been isolated from a human patient with pneumonia. To search for giant …

The largest viral genome from a human Read More »

TWiV 139: Honey, I shrunk the virus

This Week in Virology / By

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and Dickson Despommier Vincent, Alan, and Dickson discuss the reduction in genome size of Mimivirus upon passage in amoeba, and analysis of the microbiome of honeybees. [powerpress url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/twiv/TWiV139.mp3″] Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #139 (96 MB .mp3, 80 minutes). Subscribe to TWiV (free) in …

TWiV 139: Honey, I shrunk the virus Read More »

Scroll to Top