Maladies Infectieuses et Vecteurs Écologie, Génétique, Évolution et Contrôle (MIVEGEC), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Université Montpellier, 34394 Montpellier, France; email:
Unité Mixte de Recherche-Biologie et Génétique des Interactions Plante-Parasite (UMR BGPI), Institut National de Recherche en Agriculture, Alimentation et Environnement (INRAE), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD), Montpellier SupAgro, Université Montpellier, 34398 Montpellier, France; email:
Annu Rev Virol. 2020 Sep 29;7(1):203-218. doi: 10.1146/annurev-virology-010220-063346.
Multipartite virus genomes are composed of several segments, each packaged in a distinct viral particle. Although this puzzling genome architecture is found in ∼17% of known viral species, its distribution among hosts or among distinct types of genome-composing nucleic acid remains poorly understood. No convincing advantage of multipartitism has been identified, yet the maintenance of genomic integrity appears problematic. Here we review recent studies shedding light on these issues. Multipartite viruses rapidly modify the copy number of each segment/gene from one host species to another, a putative benefit if host switches are common. One multipartite virus functions in a multicellular way: The segments do not all need to be present in the same cell and can functionally complement across cells, maintaining genome integrity within hosts. The genomic integrity maintenance during host-to-host transmission needs further elucidation. These features challenge several virology foundations and could apply to other multicomponent viral systems.
多组分病毒基因组由几个片段组成，每个片段都包装在一个独特的病毒粒子中。尽管这种令人费解的基因组结构存在于约 17%的已知病毒物种中，但它在宿主之间或不同类型的基因组组成核酸之间的分布仍知之甚少。尚未发现多组分病毒有明显的优势，但基因组完整性的维持似乎存在问题。本文综述了最近的研究，这些研究阐明了这些问题。多组分病毒能够迅速改变每个片段/基因在从一个宿主物种到另一个宿主物种的拷贝数，如果宿主转换很常见，这可能是一个优势。有一种多组分病毒以多细胞的方式发挥作用：不需要所有的片段都存在于同一个细胞中，并且可以在细胞之间进行功能互补，从而在宿主内维持基因组的完整性。在宿主到宿主的传播过程中基因组完整性的维持还需要进一步阐明。这些特征挑战了一些病毒学的基础，并可能适用于其他多组分病毒系统。
