@article{PAR00014425,
  title = {{MIMIVIRE} is a defence system in mimivirus that confers resistance to virophage},
  author = {{L}evasseur, {A}. and {B}ekliz, {M}. and {C}habriere, {E}. and {P}ontarotti, {P}. and {L}a {S}cola, {B}. and {R}aoult, {D}idier},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{S}ince their discovery, giant viruses have revealed several unique features that challenge the conventional definition of a virus, such as their large and complex genomes, their infection by virophages and their presence of transferable short element transpovirons(1-5). {H}ere we investigate the sensitivity of mimivirus to virophage infection in a collection of 59 viral strains and demonstrate lineage specificity in the resistance of mimivirus to {Z}amilon(6), a unique virophage that can infect lineages {B} and {C} of mimivirus but not lineage {A}. {W}e hypothesized that mimiviruses harbour a defence mechanism resembling the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat ({CRISPR})-{C}as system that is widely present in bacteria and archaea(7-10). {W}e performed de novo sequencing of 45 new mimivirus strains and searched for sequences specific to {Z}amilon in a total of 60 mimivirus genomes. {W}e found that lineage {A} strains are resistant to {Z}amilon and contain the insertion of a repeated {Z}amilon sequence within an operon, here named the 'mimivirus virophage resistance element' ({MIMIVIRE}). {F}urther analyses of the surrounding sequences showed that this locus is reminiscent of a defence mechanism related to the {CRISPR}-{C}as system. {S}ilencing the repeated sequence and the {MIMIVIRE} genes restores mimivirus susceptibility to {Z}amilon. {T}he {MIMIVIRE} proteins possess the typical functions (nuclease and helicase) involved in the degradation of foreign nucleic acids. {T}he viral defence system, {MIMIVIRE}, represents a nucleic-acid-based immunity against virophage infection.},
  keywords = {},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{N}ature},
  volume = {531},
  numero = {7593},
  pages = {249--252 +8 p.},
  ISSN = {0028-0836},
  year = {2016},
  DOI = {10.1038/nature17146},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/{PAR}00014425},
}