Manipulation of cellular syntheses and the nature of viruses: The virocell concept

Forterre, Patrick

doi:10.1016/j.crci.2010.06.007

Cited by 96 publications

(99 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…New genes are continuously created during replication or recombination of viral genomes in virocells by all molecular mechanisms known to generate new genes in cellular genomes (Forterre, 2011;Jalasvuori, 2012). This could seem trivial, especially to virologists who are well aware of viral creativity.…”

Section: Virocells Cradles Of New Genesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The living form of the virus is the metabolically active 'vegetative state of autonomous replication', that is, its intracellular form. I have recently introduced a new concept, the virocell, to emphasize this point (Forterre, 2011(Forterre, , 2012. Viral infection indeed transforms the cell (a bacterium, an archaeon or a eukaryote) into a virocell, whose function is no more to produce two cells but to produce virions to propagate viral genes.…”

Section: From Virions To Virocellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The virocell concept and environmental microbiology

2012

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Section: Virocells Cradles Of New Genesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: From Virions To Virocellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The virocell concept and environmental microbiology

2012

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“…Structural similarities between viruses infecting phylogenetically distant hosts suggest that viruses were already active at the time of the Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA) and probably before (Bamford et al, 2005;Krupovic and Bamford, 2008). Comparative genomics has revealed that most genes encoded by viruses have no cellular homologues, testifying to the creativity of virocells (Forterre, 2011) in inventing new proteins. Several theories and discoveries have been made regarding the ancient nature of viruses and their possible key roles in the early evolution of life and in the origin of modern cells (Forterre, 2002;Bamford, 2003;; for recent reviews and alternative viewpoints, see Moreira andLópez-García, 2009 andPrangishvili, 2009a, b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental fossilisation of viruses from extremophilic Archaea

et al. 2011

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Abstract. The role of viruses at different stages of the origin of life has recently been reconsidered. It appears that viruses may have accompanied the earliest forms of life, allowing the transition from an RNA to a DNA world and possibly being involved in the shaping of tree of life in the three domains that we know presently. In addition, a large variety of viruses has been recently identified in extreme environments, hosted by extremophilic microorganisms, in ecosystems considered as analogues to those of the early Earth. Traces of life on the early Earth were preserved by the precipitation of silica on the organic structures. We present the results of the first experimental fossilisation by silica of viruses from extremophilic Archaea (SIRV2 -Sulfolobus islandicus rod-shaped virus 2, TPV1 -Thermococcus prieurii virus 1, and PAV1 -Pyrococcus abyssi virus 1). Our results confirm that viruses can be fossilised, with silica precipitating on the different viral structures (proteins, envelope) over several months in a manner similar to that of other experimentally and naturally fossilised microorganisms. This study thus suggests that viral remains or traces could be preserved in the rock record although their identification may be challenging due to the small size of the viral particles.

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“…I will try to show that some of the phylogenies that apparently support horizontal gene transfer (HGT) from cells to viruses can be interpreted the other way around. I will also briefly discuss how the discovery of Mimivirus led to new proposals on the nature of viruses, such as the notion of viruses as viral factories [32] , their definition as capsidencoding organisms [33] , or else the idea that viruses are cellular organisms hidden before our eyes, the virocell concept [34] .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Giant Viruses: Conflicts in Revisiting the Virus Concept

Forterre

2010

Intervirology

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The current paradigm on the nature of viruses is based on early work of the ‘phage group’ (the pro-phage concept) and molecular biologists working on tumour viruses (the proto-oncogene concept). It posits that viruses evolved from either prokaryotic or eukaryotic cellular genes that became infectious via their association with capsid genes. In this view, after their emergence viruses continued to evolve by stealing cellular genes (the escape model). This paradigm has been challenged recently by scientists who propose that viruses pre-dated modern cells. In particular, the discovery of Mimivirus has stimulated a lot of discussions on the nature of viruses. There are two major schools of thought, those who defend the escape model, suggesting that giant viruses are giant pickpockets (chimera), and those who emphasize their uniqueness and ancient origin. Comparative genomics of Mimivirus and related viruses (nucleo-cytoplasmic large DNA viruses) have produced a lot of data that have been interpreted according to the prejudices of the authors and thus failed until now to generate a consensus. I briefly review here the history of these debates and how they lead to new proposals, such as the definition of viruses as capsid-encoding organisms or else the recognition of their fundamentally cellular nature, the virocell concept.

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Manipulation of cellular syntheses and the nature of viruses: The virocell concept

Cited by 96 publications

References 72 publications

The virocell concept and environmental microbiology

The virocell concept and environmental microbiology

Experimental fossilisation of viruses from extremophilic Archaea

Giant Viruses: Conflicts in Revisiting the Virus Concept

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