These Viruses Found in Brazil Are So Huge They're Challenging What We Think a 'Virus' Is

These Viruses Found in Brazil Are So Huge They're Challenging What We Think a 'Virus' Is
This could change everything.

PETER DOCKRILL 28 FEB 2018

Scientists have discovered two new kinds of virus in Brazil that display such size and genetic complexity we may need to rethink exactly what viruses are, scientists say.

The two new strains – dubbed Tupanvirus, after the Brazilian thunder god Tupã in Guaraní mythology – are as prodigious as their namesake, and while they're not a threat to humans, their existence further challenges the scientific boundaries that define what a virus is.


Tupanvirus soda lake and Tupanvirus deep ocean, both named in relation to the extreme aquatic habitats in which they were discovered, aren't just among the largest viruses ever found – they also contain the most protein-making machinery of any virus discovered to date.

The strains, whose optically visible tailed forms can reach lengths of up to 2.3?micrometres, comprise some 1.5 million base pairs of DNA, with enough protein-coding genes to produce up to 1,425 kinds of proteins.

More:
https://www.sciencealert.com/giants-viruses-discovered-brazil-among-largest-most-complex-ever-found-tupanvirus-mimivirus

Science:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/122856215