In 1993 a giant virus was discovered. For ten years virologists fought against declaring it a virus. It didn’t conform to the current model that defined a virus as a pathogen that could not be seen in an in vivo sample. In 2003 a giant virus (mimivirus) was discovered in an amoeba (acanthamoeba). It had nucleic acid in its interior and was surrounded by a capsid. It had no nucleus nor an ability to metabolize. When it infects the amoeba, it hijacks control of the amoeba’s metabolism and creates a virus factory in its cytoplasm. It imparts the ability to withstand environmental extremes. This existential advantage results in most amoebas having the virus.

The first major studies of giant viruses started in 2018. They found that giant viruses were ubiquitous. They did a Sanger full genome sequencing and found that its gigantic genome had over a million base pairs. A few of them could be found in the current tree of life. The genes that had no current example in GenBank were thought to have been absorbed through Horizontal Gene Transfer when life first began on Earth.

When algae becomes infected, the virus enhances photosynthesis, carbon sequestering and DNA repair. These are essential for the ecology of the ocean. Giant viruses contain all the genes needed for life to function. They may be what made the first living cell. In the Tara Ocean Project they are mapping the giant viruses in today’s oceans.

Virologists see this as a continuation of their virus model. There seems to be a cognitive dissonance in their refusing to see the elephant in the room. There is now a real virus that can be studied. Virologists refuse to come to the conclusion that the mental constructs of their pathogenic invisible virus need to be challenged.

Spider 10/03/2023