Amoebae as battlefields for bacteria, giant viruses, and virophages.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Slimani M
PROVIDER: S-EPMC3624401 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Apr
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Amoebae as battlefields for bacteria, giant viruses, and virophages.
Slimani Meriem M Pagnier Isabelle I Raoult Didier D La Scola Bernard B
Journal of virology 20130206 8
When amoebae are simultaneously infected with Acanthamoeba polyphaga Mimivirus (APM) and the strictly intracellular BABL1 bacterium, the latter is always lost after serial subculturing. We showed that the virophage Sputnik 1, by reducing APM fitness, preserved BABL1 growth in acute and chronic models. This capability of a virophage to modulate the virulence of mimiviruses highlights the competition that occurs between them during natural host infection. ...[more]
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