Andrade Kétyllen R, Boratto Paulo P V M, Rodrigues Felipe P, Silva Lorena C F, Dornas Fábio P, Pilotto Mariana R, La Scola Bernard, Almeida Gabriel M F, Kroon Erna G, Abrahão Jônatas S
Laboratório de Vírus, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Arch Virol. 2015 Feb;160(2):477-82. doi: 10.1007/s00705-014-2257-2. Epub 2014 Oct 26.
Viruses are ubiquitous organisms, but their role in the ecosystem and their prevalence are still poorly understood. Mimiviruses are extremely complex and large DNA viruses. Although metagenomic studies have suggested that members of the family Mimiviridae are abundant in oceans, there is a lack of information about the association of mimiviruses with marine organisms. In this work, we demonstrate by molecular and virological methods that oysters are excellent sources for mimiviruses isolation. Our data not only provide new information about the biology of these viruses but also raise questions regarding the role of oyster consumption as a putative source of mimivirus infection in humans.
病毒是无处不在的生物体，但其在生态系统中的作用及其流行程度仍知之甚少。巨型病毒是极其复杂的大型DNA病毒。尽管宏基因组学研究表明，巨型病毒科的成员在海洋中数量丰富，但关于巨型病毒与海洋生物的关联信息却很匮乏。在这项研究中，我们通过分子和病毒学方法证明，牡蛎是分离巨型病毒的优质来源。我们的数据不仅提供了关于这些病毒生物学特性的新信息，还引发了关于食用牡蛎作为人类感染巨型病毒潜在来源的作用的问题。
