Large tailed spindle viruses of Archaea: A new way of doing viral business
- Hochstein, Rebecca [ Montana State University: Microbiology & Cell Biology ] [ Montana State University: Microbiology & Cell Biology ]
- Bollschweiler, Daniel [ Department of Molecular Structural Biology, Max-Planck-Institute for Biochemistry ]
- Engelhardt, Harald [ Department of Molecular Structural Biology, Max-Planck-Institute for Biochemistry, ]
- Lawrence, C. Martin [ Montana State University: Chemistry & Biochemistry ] [ Department of Molecular Structural Biology, Max-Planck-Institute for Biochemistry, ]
- Young, Mark [ Montana State University: Plant Sciences & Plant Pathology ]
Viruses of Archaea continue to surprise us. Archaeal viruses have revealed new morphologies, protein folds, and gene content. This is especially true for large spindle viruses, which only infect Archaea. We present a comparison of particle morphology, major coat protein structure, and gene content among the five characterized large spindle viruses to elucidate defining characteristics. Structural similarities and a core set of genes support the grouping of the large spindle viruses into a new superfamily.