Standing on the Shoulders of Giant Viruses: Five Lessons Learned about Large Viruses Infecting Small Eukaryotes and the Opportunities They Create

While a variety of arguments can be made for altering these metrics, what is clear is that these viruses bring with them a potential (in terms of genes that are transcribed and translated) that is historically associated with cellular life forms: this includes members of the Mimiviridae that infect amoebas, as well as the "extended" phylogenetic group that infect algae [4]. [...]this includes (but is not limited to) central components of protein translation, parts of DNA repair pathways, polysaccharide synthesis enzymes, genes containing inteins, and, more recently, evidence for a genetic system that may offer protection against virion factory-infecting virophage [16].