Bicaudaviridae

      Bicaudaviridae
      Virus classification
      Group: Group I (dsDNA)
      Family: Bicaudaviridae
      Genus: Bicaudavirus
      Species

      Acidianus two-tailed virus
      Sulfolobus virus STSV1

      Bicaudaviridae is a family of viruses. This family currently has a single genus (Bicaudavirus). This genus has a two known species - Acidianus two-tailed virus and Sulfolobus virus STSV1.

      History

      This family was first described in 2005.[1][2]

      The name is derived from the Latin word 'bi' and 'cauda' meaning 'two-tail'.

      Virology

      The virons are lemon shaped with two tails - one at either end of a central core. The tails develop outside the host - the only known example of morphological change in a viron outside of its host. The tails terminate in anchor-like structures.

      The genome is circular double-stranded DNA of 62 kilobases encoding 72 open reading frames.

      This family may have either a lytic or a lysogenic life cycle.

      The hosts of this family are species in the genera Acidianus and Sulfolobus.

      References

      1. ^ Häring M, Vestergaard G, Rachel R, Chen L, Garrett RA and Prangishvili D (2005) Independent virus development outside a host. Nature 436, 1101-1102
      2. ^ Prangishvili, D., Vestergaard G, Häring M, Aramayo R, Basta T, Rachel R and Garrett RA (2006) Structural and genomic properties of the hyperthermophilic archaeal virus ATV with an extracellular stage of the reproductive cycle. J. Mol. Biol. 359, 1203-1216

      External links

      • Viral Zone [1]
      Last modified on 23 December 2012, at 08:05