1 University of California , Berkeley, California, USA .
2 Earth Life Sciences Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology , Japan .
Astrobiology. 2018 Feb;18(2):207-223. doi: 10.1089/ast.2017.1649. Epub 2018 Jan 10.
Viruses are the most abundant biological entities on modern Earth. They are highly diverse both in structure and genomic sequence, play critical roles in evolution, strongly influence terran biogeochemistry, and are believed to have played important roles in the origin and evolution of life. However, there is yet very little focus on viruses in astrobiology. Viruses arguably have coexisted with cellular life-forms since the earliest stages of life, may have been directly involved therein, and have profoundly influenced cellular evolution. Viruses are the only entities on modern Earth to use either RNA or DNA in both single- and double-stranded forms for their genetic material and thus may provide a model for the putative RNA-protein world. With this review, we hope to inspire integration of virus research into astrobiology and also point out pressing unanswered questions in astrovirology, particularly regarding the detection of virus biosignatures and whether viruses could be spread extraterrestrially. We present basic virology principles, an inclusive definition of viruses, review current virology research pertinent to astrobiology, and propose ideas for future astrovirology research foci. Key Words: Astrobiology-Virology-Biosignatures-Origin of life-Roadmap. Astrobiology 18, 207-223.
病毒是现代地球上最丰富的生物实体。它们在结构和基因组序列上都具有高度的多样性，在进化中起着关键作用，强烈影响着地球的生物地球化学，并且被认为在生命的起源和进化中发挥了重要作用。然而，天体生物学中对病毒的关注却很少。病毒可以说是从生命的早期就与细胞生命形式共存，可能直接参与其中，并深刻地影响了细胞进化。病毒是现代地球上唯一在单链和双链形式中使用 RNA 或 DNA 作为遗传物质的实体，因此可能为所谓的 RNA-蛋白质世界提供了一个模型。通过这篇综述，我们希望能激发病毒研究与天体生物学的融合，并指出天体病毒学中亟待解决的问题，特别是关于病毒生物特征的检测以及病毒是否可以在星际间传播。我们介绍了基本的病毒学原理、病毒的全面定义，回顾了与天体生物学相关的当前病毒学研究，并为未来的天体病毒学研究重点提出了一些想法。关键词：天体生物学-病毒学-生物特征-生命起源-路线图。天体生物学 18，207-223。
