MICR 221 Lecture Notes - Lecture 20: Megavirus, Plaque-Forming Unit, Virus Quantification

• School: Queen's University
• Department: Microbiology and Immunology
• Course: MICR 221
• Professor: Eric B Carstens

Document Summary

Largest virus - amoeba-infecting mimivirus (mimicking microbe virus) the mimivirus dna genome is 1. 18 megabases in length, encoding roughly 1000 genes! (that"s really a lot for a virus some viruses have only 1 gene!) Megavirus chilensis: 77kb larger than mimivirus (2011) possess dna genome in excess of a megabase isolated from water near las cruces, chile. 1. 259 mb vs 1. 182 mb dsdna genome: arslan, d. , m. legendre,v. Distant mimivirus relative with a larger genome highlights the fundamental features of megaviridae. Pandora virus salinus: a 2. 77mb genome doesn"t code for making its own energy. Investigating the invisible early characterizations caused confusion, leading to debates whether lterable viruses were animals or plants (at the time, this was a big deal!) Virus plaque assay: virus attached to cells, washed, agarose gel poured over so nothing is floating around . By counting plaques, and knowing the dilution, can calculate the plaque forming units per millilitre (pfu/ml) Inverted: light on top and objective lens underneath.