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Analysis of the First Genome of a Hyperthermophilic Marine Virus-Like Particle, PAV1, Isolated from Pyrococcus abyssi ^,

C. Geslin,^1,* M. Gaillard,^1, D. Flament,^1* K. Rouault,^1,2 M. Le Romancer,¹ D. Prieur,¹ and G. Erauso¹

Laboratoire de Microbiologie des Environnements Extrêmes, IUEM, UBO, CNRS, IFREMER, UMR 6197, Technopôle Brest-Iroise, Place Nicolas Copernic, 29280 Plouzané, France,¹ Laboratoire de Génétique Moléculaire et Génétique Épidémiologique, INSERM U613, Brest 29220, France²

Received 15 December 2006/ Accepted 12 April 2007

Only one virus-like particle (VLP) has been reported from hyperthermophilic Euryarchaeotes. This VLP, named PAV1, is shaped like a lemon and was isolated from a strain of "Pyrococcus abyssi," a deep-sea isolate. Its genome consists of a double-stranded circular DNA of 18 kb which is also present at a high copy number (60 per chromosome) free within the host cytoplasm but is not integrated into the host chromosome. Here, we report the results of complete analysis of the PAV1 genome. All the 25 predicted genes, except 3, are located on one DNA strand. A transcription map has been made by using a reverse transcription-PCR assay. All the identified open reading frames (ORFs) are transcribed. The most significant similarities relate to four ORFs. ORF 180a shows 31% identity with ORF 181 of the pRT1 plasmid isolated from Pyrococcus sp. strain JT1. ORFs 676 and 678 present similarities with a concanavalin A-like lectin/glucanase domain, which could be involved in the process of host-virus recognition, and ORF 59 presents similarities with the transcriptional regulator CopG. The genome of PAV1 displays unique features at the nucleic and proteinic level, indicating that PAV1 should be attached at least to a novel genus or virus family.

Published ahead of print on 20 April 2007.

Supplemental material for this article may be found at http://jb.asm.org/.

Claire Geslin and Mélusine Gaillard contributed equally to this work.