Ok. First, I want to give thanks to kimby511, from Taringa! (a Latin American site like 4Chan), for the info about this discovery because my email, when I get scientific updates form Journals, was... hacked XD This post are not the same popular science article that probably you've read, because is focused in the Megavirus evolutive importance.
Mimivirus was the bigger virus ever sequenced for a lot of time, but since few days, it had K.O. from a new champion: Megavirus chilensis, a DNA virus isolated from Chilean shores, but is capable to infect bacteria from freshwater.
It have a 1,259,197 pb genome, being the larger virus isolate ever. It shares with Mimivirus a lot of cell-like genes and its features, giving reinforcements to the hypothesis that says this two virus are descendants from the same common ancestor (possibly a cell) and the differences between this viruses are due to the loss or win of genes, the genera or family expansion at genetic level and insertion/migration of mobile elements (as Introns)
So, What's its importance? The two virus have a key to understand the viral origin, and development.
this is a translation Scientific-common man. If you want to read the original abstract (and if you purchase it, please share with me... I'm poor XD), this is the link:
Here
Source:
Distant Mimivirus relative with a larger genome highlights the fundamental features of Megaviridae
Defne Arslan, Matthieu Legendre, Virginie Seltzer, Chantal Abergel, and Jean-Michel Claverie
El artículo científico original lo hallas :
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