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metavirus

{{Short description|Genus of viruses}}

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| taxon = Metavirus

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Metavirus is a genus of viruses in the family Metaviridae.{{cite web |title=ICTV Report Metaviridae |url=http://www.ictv.global/report/metaviridae}} They are retrotransposons that invade a eukaryotic host genome and may only replicate once the virus has infected the host.{{Cite news|url=http://naberbiology.com/documents/Unintelligent%20Design%20_%20Health%20&%20Medicine%20_%20DISCOVER%20Magazine.pdf|title=Unintelligent Design|last=Siebert|first=C|date=2006|work=Discover}} Metavirus may use several different hosts for transmission, and has been found to be transmissible through ovule and pollen of some plants.{{Cite journal|last1=Singh|first1=R|last2=Finnie|first2=R|date=September 1973|title=Seed transmission of potato spindle tuber Metavirus through the ovule of Scopolia sinensis|journal=Canadian Plant Disease Journal|volume=53|pages=153–154}}

Metavirus contains five families of the Ty3/Gypsy element with either one or two open-reading frames (gag3 and/or pol3); these families are mdg1, mdg3, blastopia, 412, and micropia.{{Cite journal|last1=Nefedova|first1=Lidia|last2=Kim|first2=Alexander|title=Mechanisms of LTR-Retroelement Transposition: Lessons from Drosophilia melanogaster|journal=Viruses|volume=9|pages=1–10}}{{Cite journal|last=Levy|first=Camille|display-authors=etal|title=Virus-like particle vaccine induces cross-protection against human metapneumovirus infections in mice|journal=Vaccine|volume=31|issue=25|pages=2778–2785|doi=10.1016/j.vaccine.2013.03.051|pmid=23583815|year=2013}} There is evidence to support that amino acid deprivation in the elements of the host genome has frequently caused a frameshift towards the Ty3 element.{{Cite journal|last=Turkel|first=Sezai|date=June 2016|title=Amino Acid Starvation Enhances Programmed Ribosomal Frameshift in Metavirus Ty3 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae|journal=Advances in Biology|volume=2016|pages=1–6|doi=10.1155/2016/1840782|doi-access=free}} Metavirus corresponds with the Ogre/Tat gene lineage.{{Cite journal|last1=Neumann|first1=P|last2=Pozarkova|first2=D|last3=Macas|first3=J|date=2003|title=Highly abundant pea LTR retrotransposon Ogre is constitutively transcribed and partially spliced|journal=Plant Molecular Biology|volume=53|issue=3|pages=399–410|doi=10.1023/B:PLAN.0000006945.77043.ce|pmid=14750527|s2cid=13412101}}

Morphology

Species of Metavirus are single-stranded RNA retrotransposons. They have an icosahedral and linear conformation and are not enclosed in an envelope.{{Cite book|title=The Springer Index of Viruses|last=Menees|first=Thomas|publisher=Springer Nature|year=2018|pages=843–849}} Their diameter is approximately 50 nm and they are usually between 42 and 52 nm in length. These genetic elements contain a core and capsid.{{cn|date=November 2022}}

Species

The genus contains the following species, listed by scientific name and followed by the exemplar virus of the species:{{cite web|title=Virus Taxonomy: 2024 Release|url=https://ictv.global/taxonomy|publisher=International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses|access-date=22 March 2025}}{{cite web|title=Species List: Metaviridae|url=https://ictv.global/report/chapter/metaviridae/taxonomy/metaviridae|publisher=International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses|access-date=22 March 2025}}

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Evolution

Because of their high mutation and recombination rate and their ability to conduct horizontal gene transfer, the evolutionary history of many retroelements may be challenging to trace (Benachenhou et al., 2013).{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1186/1759-8753-4-5|pmid = 23369192|pmc = 3601003|title = Conserved structure and inferred evolutionary history of long terminal repeats (LTRs)|journal = Mobile DNA|volume = 4|issue = 1|pages = 5|year = 2013|last1 = Benachenhou|first1 = Farid|last2 = Sperber|first2 = Göran O.|last3 = Bongcam-Rudloff|first3 = Erik|last4 = Andersson|first4 = Göran|last5 = Boeke|first5 = Jef D.|last6 = Blomberg|first6 = Jonas | doi-access=free }} Scientists often look to the genomes of Metavirus to compare nucleic acid sequences to the sequences of other viruses, constructing lineages and proposing common ancestors.{{cn|date=November 2022}}

Multiple taxa of Metavirus have genomic sequence that are homologous to other genera of Metaviridae and a suggest common ancestor and/or coevolution.{{Cite journal|last1=Koonin|first1=M|last2=Dolja|first2=V|last3=Krupovic|first3=M|date=2015|title=Origins and evolution of viruses of eukaryotes: The ultimate modularity|journal=Virology|volume=479-480|pages=2–25|doi=10.1016/j.virol.2015.02.039 |pmid=25771806|pmc=5898234|doi-access=free}} Scientists often look at capsid proteins for evidence of Metavirus evolution.{{Cite journal|last1=Gong|first1=Z|last2=Han|first2=G|date=2018|title=Insect Retroelements Provide Novel Insights into the Origin of Hepatitis B Viruses|journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution|volume=35|issue=9|pages=2254–2259|doi=10.1093/molbev/msy129|pmid=29924338|doi-access=free}} Much of the lineage of Metavirus remains unsolved and is presently being researched.{{cn|date=November 2022}}

= Studies =

Mascagni et al. (2017) conducted researched to find homologs and identify strands in sunflower species. In the experiment, DNA was extracted from various helianthus species and the genomes of retrotransposons were identified using BLASTX analysis. Phylogenetic trees were constructed using neighbor-joining clustering method and a bioinformatic pipeline was constructed to allow genomic analysis. Two elements, SURE and Helicopia, were identified and placed into the Gypsy and Copia superfamilies, respectively.{{Cite journal|last=Mascagni|first=Farid|date=2017|title=Different histories of two highly variable LTR retrotransposons in sunflower species|url=https://arpi.unipi.it/bitstream/11568/885451/5/GENE-D-17-00534R1.pdf|journal=Gene|volume=634|pages=5–14|doi=10.1016/j.gene.2017.08.014|pmid=28867564|hdl=11568/885451|hdl-access=free}} Thus, the SURE element belongs to the Gypsy group, of the Ogre/Tat lineage, of the genus Metavirus. Further analysis led Mascagni et al. (2017) to identify mutations and conclude that the Metavirus lineage evolved before Sirevirus. Mascagni et al. (2017) also found evidence that the SURE elements and Helicopia elements had hybridized, potential for new lineages.

Nefedova and Kim (2009), conducted a study on Drosophila melanogaster to further identify lineages of Metavirus. Homologs were identified from previously extracted DNA of retrotransposons and Drosophila melanogaster and phylogenetic trees were constructed.{{Cite journal|last=Nefedove|first=L|date=2009|title=Molecular phylogeny and systematics of drosophila retrotransposons and retroviruses|journal=Molecular Biology|volume=43|issue=5|pages=747–756|doi=10.1134/S0026893309050069|s2cid=6078688}} Metaviruses possess the env gene, allowing them to be infective, which Nefedova and Kim (2009) concluded was obtained from horizontal gene transfer from baculoviruses. Metavirus contains the roo element which is thought to have been obtained from gene transfer from Errantivirus, or more likely, the two genera share a common ancestor.

References

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External links

  • [https://www.ictv.global/report/metaviridae ICTV Report: Metaviridae]
  • {{cite web |title=Metaviridae |work=NCBI Taxonomy Browser |url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?mode=Info&id=186665 |id=186665}}
  • [http://www.dpvweb.net/notes/showfamily.php?family=Metaviridae Descriptions of Plant Viruses] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191120095612/http://www.dpvweb.net/notes/showfamily.php?family=Metaviridae |date=2019-11-20 }}

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Category:Metaviridae

Category:RNA reverse-transcribing viruses

Category:Virus genera