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Oysters as hot spots for mimivirus isolation

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Abstract

Viruses are ubiquitous organisms, but their role in the ecosystem and their prevalence are still poorly understood. Mimiviruses are extremely complex and large DNA viruses. Although metagenomic studies have suggested that members of the family Mimiviridae are abundant in oceans, there is a lack of information about the association of mimiviruses with marine organisms. In this work, we demonstrate by molecular and virological methods that oysters are excellent sources for mimiviruses isolation. Our data not only provide new information about the biology of these viruses but also raise questions regarding the role of oyster consumption as a putative source of mimivirus infection in humans.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Laboratório de Vírus colleagues for their excellent technical support. We also thank Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG) and the Pró -Reitoria de Pesquisa da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. EGK is a CNPq researcher.

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The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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Correspondence to Jônatas S. Abrahão.

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705_2014_2257_MOESM1_ESM.tif

Supplementary Figure Characterization of representative viruses from each assayed area. (A) Viral isolates were propagated and purified and were subjected to one-step-growth curves assays. (B) Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) highlighting similar viral particle protein profiles among the prototype APMV and oyster mimivirus isolates. (TIFF 927 kb)

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Andrade, K.R., Boratto, P.P.V.M., Rodrigues, F.P. et al. Oysters as hot spots for mimivirus isolation. Arch Virol 160, 477–482 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-014-2257-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-014-2257-2

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