Viruses are extremely diverse and abundant and are present in countless environments. Giant viruses of the Megavirales order have emerged as a fascinating research topic for virologists around the world. As evidence of their ubiquity and ecological impact, mimiviruses have been found in multiple environmental samples. However, isolation of these viruses from environmental samples is inefficient, mainly due to methodological limitations and lack of information regarding the interactions between viruses and substrates. In this work, we demonstrate the long-lasting stability of mimivirus in environmental (freshwater and saline water) and hospital (ventilator plastic device tube) substrates, showing the detection of infectious particles after more than 9 months. In addition, an enrichment protocol was implemented that remarkably increased mimivirus detection from all tested substrates, including field tests. Moreover, biological, morphological and genetic tests revealed that the enrichment protocol maintained mimivirus particle integrity. In conclusion, our work demonstrated the stability of APMV in samples of environmental and health interest and proposed a reliable and easy protocol to improve giant virus isolation. The data presented here can guide future giant virus detection and isolation studies.
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Laboratório de Vírus, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil;Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Laboratório de Vírus, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil;Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Laboratório de Vírus, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil;Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Laboratório de Vírus, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil;Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Laboratório de Vírus, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil;Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Laboratório de Vírus, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil;URMITE CNRS UMR 6236– IRD 3R198, Aix Marseille Universite, Marseille, France;Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Laboratório de Vírus, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil;Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Laboratório de Vírus, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil;Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Laboratório de Vírus, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Recommended Citation:
Fábio P. Dornas,Lorena C. F. Silva,Gabriel M. de Almeida,et al. Acanthamoeba polyphaga mimivirus Stability in Environmental and Clinical Substrates: Implications for Virus Detection and Isolation[J]. PLOS ONE,2014-01-01,9(2)