Abrahão Jônatas Santos
Laboratório de Vírus, Departamento de Microbiologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG). Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, 31270-901, Brazil.
Microbes Infect. 2025 Mar-Apr;27(3):105467. doi: 10.1016/j.micinf.2024.105467. Epub 2024 Dec 24.
Giant viruses have fascinated the scientific community due to their immense particles and extensive genomes. A significant surge of interest in the field has been observed over the past 20 years following the discovery of mimiviruses, the first amoeba-infecting viruses described. However, with the discovery of new amoeba viruses and those from other protists, the concept of "giant viruses" has become increasingly controversial in the scientific literature. This commentary revisits the historical and conceptual foundations of the term "giant virus" and explores its implications for virology.
巨型病毒因其巨大的颗粒和庞大的基因组而吸引了科学界的关注。自发现米米病毒（第一种被描述的感染变形虫的病毒）以来，在过去20年里，该领域的关注度显著飙升。然而，随着新的变形虫病毒以及来自其他原生生物的病毒被发现，“巨型病毒”这一概念在科学文献中变得越来越有争议。这篇评论重新审视了“巨型病毒”这一术语的历史和概念基础，并探讨了其对病毒学的影响。
