Zamilon virophage
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Mimivirus-dependent virus Zamilon, or Zamilon, is a virophage, a group of small DNA viruses that infect protists and require a helper virus to replicate; they are a type of satellite virus.[2] Discovered in 2013 in Tunisia, infecting Acanthamoeba polyphaga amoebae, Zamilon most closely resembles Sputnik, the first virophage to be discovered. The name is Arabic for "the neighbour".[3] Its spherical particle is 50–60 nm in diameter, and contains a circular double-stranded DNA genome of around 17 kb, which is predicted to encode 20 polypeptides. A related strain, Zamilon 2, has been identified in North America.
Mimivirus-dependent virus Zamilon | |
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Two Zamilon virophages (inset) to scale with their associated giant virus Megavirus [1] | |
Virus classification | |
(unranked): | Virus |
Realm: | Varidnaviria |
Kingdom: | Bamfordvirae |
Phylum: | Preplasmiviricota |
Class: | Maveriviricetes |
Order: | Priklausovirales |
Family: | Lavidaviridae |
Genus: | Sputnikvirus |
Species: | Mimivirus-dependent virus Zamilon |
All known virophages are associated with helpers in the giant DNA virus family Mimiviridae. Zamilon is restricted in its range of helper viruses; it can be supported by viruses from Mimivirus-like Mimiviridae lineages B and C, but not from lineage A. This appears to be a consequence of a rudimentary immune system of the helper virus, termed MIMIVIRE (mimivirus virophage resistance element), akin to the CRISPR-Cas pathway.[4] Unlike the Sputnik virophage, Zamilon does not appear to impair the replication of its helper virus.