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Originally published in Science Express on 14 October 2004
Science 19 November 2004:
Vol. 306. no. 5700, pp. 1344 - 1350
DOI: 10.1126/science.1101485
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Research Articles

The 1.2-Megabase Genome Sequence of Mimivirus

Didier Raoult,1* Stéphane Audic,2 Catherine Robert,1 Chantal Abergel,2 Patricia Renesto,1 Hiroyuki Ogata,2 Bernard La Scola,1 Marie Suzan,1 Jean-Michel Claverie2*

We recently reported the discovery and preliminary characterization of Mimivirus, the largest known virus, with a 400-nanometer particle size comparable to mycoplasma. Mimivirus is a double-stranded DNA virus growing in amoebae. We now present its 1,181,404–base pair genome sequence, consisting of 1262 putative open reading frames, 10% of which exhibit a similarity to proteins of known functions. In addition to exceptional genome size, Mimivirus exhibits many features that distinguish it from other nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses. The most unexpected is the presence of numerous genes encoding central protein-translation components, including four amino-acyl transfer RNA synthetases, peptide release factor 1, translation elongation factor EF-TU, and translation initiation factor 1. The genome also exhibits six tRNAs. Other notable features include the presence of both type I and type II topoisomerases, components of all DNA repair pathways, many polysaccharide synthesis enzymes, and one intein-containing gene. The size and complexity of the Mimivirus genome challenge the established frontier between viruses and parasitic cellular organisms. This new sequence data might help shed a new light on the origin of DNA viruses and their role in the early evolution of eukaryotes.

1 Unité des Rickettsies, Faculté de Médecine, CNRS UMR6020, Université de la Méditerranée, 13385 Marseille Cedex 05, France.
2 Information Génomique et Structurale (IGS), CNRS UPR2589, Institut de Biologie Structurale et Microbiologie, 13402 Marseille Cedex 20, France.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: Jean-Michel.Claverie{at}igs.cnrs-mrs.fr (J.-M.C.); Didier.Raoult{at}medecine.univ-mrs.fr (D.R.)

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)