@article{PAR00014096,
  title = {{A} new zamilon-like virophage partial genome assembled from a bioreactor metagenome},
  author = {{B}ekliz, {M}. and {V}erneau, {J}. and {B}enamar, {S}. and {R}aoult, {D}idier and {L}a {S}cola, {B}. and {C}olson, {P}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{V}irophages replicate within viral factories inside the {A}canthamoeba cytoplasm, and decrease the infectivity and replication of their associated giant viruses. {C}ulture isolation and metagenome analyses have suggested that they are common in our environment. {B}y screening metagenomic databases in search of amoebal viruses, we detected virophage-related sequences among sequences generated from the same non-aerated bioreactor metagenome as recently screened by another team for virophage capsid-encoding genes. {W}e describe here the assembled partial genome of a virophage closely related to {Z}amilon, which infects {A}canthamoeba with mimiviruses of lineages {B} and {C} but not {A}. {S}earches for sequences related to amoebal giant viruses, other {M}egavirales representatives and virophages were conducted using {BLAST} against this bioreactor metagenome ({PRJNA}73603). {C}omparative genomic and phylogenetic analyses were performed using sequences from previously identified virophages. {A} total of 72 metagenome contigs generated from the bioreactor were identified as best matching with sequences from {M}egavirales representatives, mostly {P}ithovirus sibericum pandoraviruses and amoebal mimiviruses from three lineages {A}-{C}, as well as from virophages. {I}n addition, a partial genome from a {Z}amilon-like virophage, we named {Z}amilon 2, was assembled. {T}his genome has a size of 6716 base pairs, corresponding to 39% of the {Z}amilon genome, and comprises partial or full-length homologs for 15 {Z}amilon predicted open reading frames ({ORF}s). {M}ean nucleotide and amino acid identities for these 15 {Z}amilon 2 {ORF}s with their {Z}amilon counterparts were 89% (range, 81-96%) and 91% (range, 78-99%), respectively. {N}otably, these {ORF}s included two encoding a capsid protein and a packaging {ATP}ase. {C}omparative genomics and phylogenetic analyses indicated that the partial genome was that of a new {Z}amilon-like virophage. {F}urther studies are needed to gain better knowledge of the tropism and prevalence of virophages in our biosphere and in humans.},
  keywords = {virophage ; {Z}amilon ; metagenome ; giant virus ; mimivirus ; {M}egavirales ; nucleocytoplasmic large {DNA} virus ; bioreactor},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{F}rontiers in {M}icrobiology},
  volume = {6},
  numero = {},
  pages = {art . 1308},
  ISSN = {1664-302{X}},
  year = {2015},
  DOI = {10.3389/fmicb.2015.01308},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/{PAR}00014096},
}