''Pandoraviridae'' is a family of double-stranded DNA viruses that infect

amoeba An amoeba (; less commonly spelled ameba or amœba; plural ''am(o)ebas'' or ''am(o)ebae'' ), often called an amoeboid, is a type of cell or unicellular organism with the ability to alter its shape, primarily by extending and retracting pseudop ...

e. There is only one genus in this family: '' Pandoravirus''. Several species in this genus have been described, including '' Pandoravirus dulcis'', '' Pandoravirus salinus'' and '' Pandoravirus yedoma''.

History

The viruses were discovered in 2013.

Description

The viruses in this family are the second largest known virus (~1

micrometer Micrometer can mean: * Micrometer (device), used for accurate measurements by means of a calibrated screw * American spelling of micrometre The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; ...

) in

capsid A capsid is the protein shell of a virus, enclosing its genetic material. It consists of several oligomeric (repeating) structural subunits made of protein called protomers. The observable 3-dimensional morphological subunits, which may or ma ...

length, after ''

Pithovirus ''Pithovirus'', first described in a 2014 paper, is a genus of giant virus known from two species, ''Pithovirus sibericum'', which infects amoebas and ''Pithovirus massiliensis''. It is a double-stranded DNA virus, and is a member of the nucle ...

'' (1.5

). ''Pandoravirus'' has the largest viral

genome In the fields of molecular biology and genetics, a genome is all the genetic information of an organism. It consists of nucleotide sequences of DNA (or RNA in RNA viruses). The nuclear genome includes protein-coding genes and non-coding ...

known, containing double-stranded DNA of 1.9 to 2.5

megabase A base pair (bp) is a fundamental unit of double-stranded nucleic acids consisting of two nucleobases bound to each other by hydrogen bonds. They form the building blocks of the DNA double helix and contribute to the folded structure of both ...

pairs.

Evolution

These viruses appear to be related to the phycodnaviruses.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q16987267 Nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses Unaccepted virus taxa