An update on giant viruses

1.    Discovery of giant viruses in 2003: what did it change (B. La Scola)
2.    Diversity and classification of giant viruses (P. Colson)
3.    Giant viruses as emerging human pathogens (S. Aherfi)

Abstract

The discovery in 2003 of Mimivirus, the first giant virus, profoundly modified our vision of the virosphere. Firstly by the size of their particle and their genome but also by a gene content which reveals new surprises to each new isolate. Giant viruses have significantly expanded virosphere diversity over the last 15 years, and represent a group of viruses with a complexity similar that of microorganisms. They are currently classified on the basis of phylogenomic analyzes in 2 new families recognized by the international committee of taxonomy of viruses, and 7 other groups including putative new families. Their sequences make it possible to "illuminate" a part of the dark matter of metagenomes.
Even more surprisingly, their detection and their isolation in healthy humans but also in patients, suggests that they can be part of the normal microbiota but also become opportunistic pathogens.