Dinodnavirus is a genus of viruses that infect dinoflagellates.Tarutani K, Nagasaki K, Itakura S, Yamaguchi M (2001) Isolation of a virus infecting the novel shellfish-killing dinoflagellate Heterocapsa circularisquama. Aquat Microb Ecol 23:103–111 This genus belongs to the clade of nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses. The only species in the genus is Heterocapsa circularisquama DNA virus 01 (Dinodnavirus heterocapsae).
Name The order name, Dinodnavirales, is a combination of Dino, from host dinoflagellate and dna, from its DNA genome.
Virology The virus has an icosahedral capsid 180–210 nanometers in diameter.
The genome is a single molecule of double stranded DNA of about 356-kilobases.
It infects the dinoflagellate Heterocapsa circularisquama.
During replication virions emerge from a specific cytoplasm compartment – the 'viroplasm' – which is created by the virus.Nagasaki K, Tomaru Y, Tarutani K, Katanozaka N, Yamanaka S, Tanabe H, Yamaguchi M (2003) Growth characteristics and intraspecies host specificity of a large virus infecting the dinoflagellate Heterocapsa circularisquama. Appl Environ Microbiol 69:2580–2586
Taxonomy DNA studies have shown that the genus belongs in the family Asfarviridae.Ogata H, Toyoda K, Tomaru Y, Nakayama N, Shirai Y, Claverie JM, Nagasaki K (2009) Remarkable sequence similarity between the dinoflagellate-infecting marine girus and the terrestrial pathogen African swine fever virus. Virol J 6:178
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