The analysis of KV mimivirus major capsid gene and its transcript highlights a distinct pattern of gene evolution and splicing among mimiviruses.

4 years ago

The analysis of KV mimivirus major capsid gene and its transcript highlights a distinct pattern of gene evolution and splicing among mimiviruses.

Rodrigo Araújo Lima Rodrigues, Lorena Christine Ferreira da Silva, Fábio Pio Dornas, Betânia Paiva Drumond, Graziele Pereira Oliveira, Paulo Victor Miranda Boratto, Juliana Reis Cortines, Jônatas Santos Abrahão

The inclusion of Mimiviridae members in the putative monophyletic NCLDV group is based on genomic and phylogenomic patterns. This shows that, along with other viral families, they share a set of genes known as core or "hallmark genes", including the major capsid protein (MCP). Although previous studies have suggested that the maturation of mimivirus MCP transcripts is dependent on splicing, there is little information about the processing of this transcript in other mimivirus isolates. In this work, we report the characterization of a new mimivirus isolate, called KV mimivirus. Analysis of the structure, syntheny and phylogenetic relationships of the MCP gene in many mimivirus isolates revealed a remarkable variation at position and types of intronic and exonic regions, even for mimiviruses belonging to the same lineage. In addition, sequencing of KV and APMV MCP transcripts has shown that, inside the family, even related giant viruses may present different ways to process the MCP mRNA. These results contribute to the understanding of the genetic organization and evolution of the MCP gene in mimiviruses.ImportanceMimivirus isolates have been obtained by prospecting studies since 2003. Based on genomic and phylogenomic studies of conserved genes, these viruses have been clustered together with members of six other viral families. Although being an important part of the so called "hallmark genes", there is little information about the processing and structure of the major capsid protein (MCP) gene in many mimivirus isolates. In this work, we have analyzed the structure, syntheny and phylogenetic relationships of the MCP gene in many mimivirus isolates, showing remarkable variation at position and types of intronic and exonic regions, even for mimiviruses belonging to the same lineage. These results contribute to the understanding of the genetic organization and evolution of the MCP gene in mimiviruses.

Publisher URL: http://doi.org/10.1128/JVI.01782-17

DOI: 10.1128/JVI.01782-17