kids encyclopedia robot

Pandoravirus facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Pandoravirus
Virus classification
Group:
Group I (dsDNA)
Order:
Megavirales
Family:
Pandoraviridae
Genus:
Pandoravirus
Species
  • Pandoravirus braziliensis
  • Pandoravirus dulcis
  • Pandoravirus hades
  • Pandoravirus inopinatum
  • Pandoravirus massiliensis
  • Pandoravirus pampulha
  • Pandoravirus persephone
  • Pandoravirus salinus

Pandoravirus is a genus of very large viruses. They have the largest genomes of any viral genus. Like the other large viruses Mimivirus, Pithovirus and Megavirus, Pandoravirus infects amoebas. Its genome, with 1.9 to 2.5 megabases of DNA, is twice as large as that of Megavirus. It differs greatly from the other large viruses in appearance and in genome structure.

Although the capsid of Pithovirus is 50% larger in size, Pandoravirus has the largest genome of all viruses (2.5 million base pairs).

About 93% of Pandoravirus genes are not known from any other microbes. This led some scientists to suggest the virus belongs to a "fourth domain", aside from Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukaryotes. Viruses as a whole are not considered to be within these three domains, but they have been proposed as one in the past by some biologists.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Pandoravirus para niños

kids search engine
Pandoravirus Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.