When I first entered the field of virology, in the 1970s, the definition of virus included the then-correct observation that no viral genome encoded any part of the translational apparatus. This dictum was shattered by the discovery of giant viruses which were found to encode tRNAs, aminoacyl tRNA syntheses, and many proteins involved in translation. The phrase ‘only the ribosome is lacking’ was famously used to describe the giant Tupanvirus. While catchy, it is no longer entirely true: viral genomes have been identified that encode ribosomal proteins.
[Read more…] about Ribosomal proteins encoded in viral genomes
I am very skeptical about the pronouncement this week that a 
If you know anything about me, you know that I’m mad about viruses. Although this madness extends to everything viral, I have a peculiar fondness for giant viruses.