Archaeal organisms are generally known as diverse extremophiles, but they play a crucial role also in moderate environments. So far, only about 50 archaeal viruses have been described in some detail. Despite this, unusual viral morphotypes within this group have been reported. Interestingly, all isolated archaeal viruses have a double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) genome. To further characterize the diversity of archaeal viruses, we screened highly saline water samples for archaea and their viruses. Here, we describe a new haloarchaeal virus, Halorubrum pleomorphic virus 1 (HRPV-1) that was isolated from a solar saltern and infects an indigenous host belonging to the genus Halorubrum. Infection does not cause cell lysis, but slightly retards growth of the host and results in high replication of the virus. The sequenced genome (7048 nucleotides) of HRPV-1 is single-stranded DNA (ssDNA), which makes HRPV-1 the first characterized archaeal virus that does not have a dsDNA genome. In spite of this, similarities to another archaeal virus were observed. Two major structural proteins were recognized in protein analyses, and by lipid analyses it was shown that the virion contains a membrane. Electron microscopy studies indicate that the enveloped virion is pleomorphic (approximately 44 x 55 nm). HRPV-1 virion may represent commonly used virion architecture, and it seems that structure-based virus lineages may be extended to non-icosahedral viruses.

bOur understanding of the third domain of life, Archaea, has greatly increased since its establishment some 20 years ago. The increasing information on archaea has also brought their viruses into the limelight. Today, about 100 archaeal viruses are known, which is a low number compared to the numbers of characterized bacterial or eukaryotic viruses. Here, we have performed a comparative biological and structural study of seven pleomorphic viruses infecting extremely halophilic archaea. The pleomorphic nature of this novel virion type was established by sedimentation analysis and cryo-electron microscopy. These nonlytic viruses form virions characterized by a lipid vesicle enclosing the genome, without any nucleoproteins. The viral lipids are unselectively acquired from host cell membranes. The virions contain two to three major structural proteins, which either are embedded in the membrane or form spikes distributed randomly on the external membrane surface. Thus, the most important step during virion assembly is most likely the interaction of the membrane proteins with the genome. The interaction can be driven by single-stranded or double-stranded DNA, resulting in the virions having similar architectures but different genome types. Based on our comparative study, these viruses probably form a novel group, which we define as pleolipoviruses.

c Extremophilic archaea, both hyperthermophiles and halophiles, dominate in habitats where rather harsh conditions are encountered. Like all other organisms, archaeal cells are susceptible to viral infections, and to date, about 100 archaeal viruses have been described. Among them, there are extraordinary virion morphologies as well as the common head-tailed viruses. Although approximately half of the isolated archaeal viruses belong to the latter group, no three-dimensional virion structures of these headtailed viruses are available. Thus, rigorous comparisons with bacteriophages are not yet warranted. In the present study, we determined the genome sequences of two of such viruses of halophiles and solved their capsid structures by cryo-electron microscopy and three-dimensional image reconstruction. We show that these viruses are inactivated, yet remain intact, at low salinity and that their infectivity is regained when high salinity is restored. This enabled us to determine their three-dimensional capsid structures at low salinity to a ϳ10-Å resolution. The genetic and structural data showed that both viruses belong to the same T-number class, but one of them has enlarged its capsid to accommodate a larger genome than typically associated with a T‫7؍‬ capsid by inserting an additional protein into the capsid lattice.

Alphaviruses are typically arthropod-borne, and many are important pathogens such as chikungunya virus. Alphaviruses encode four nonstructural proteins (nsP1-4), initially produced as a polyprotein P1234. nsP4 is the core RNA-dependent RNA polymerase but all four nsPs are required for RNA synthesis. The early replication complex (RC) formed by the polyprotein P123 and nsP4 synthesizes minus RNA strands, and the late RC composed of fully processed nsP1-nsP4 is responsible for the production of genomic and subgenomic plus strands. Different parts of nsP4 recognize the promoters for minus and plus strands but the binding also requires the other nsPs. The alphavirus polymerase has been purified and is capable of de novo RNA synthesis only in the presence of the other nsPs. The purified nsP4 also has terminal adenylyltransferase activity, which may generate the poly(A) tail at the 3' end of the genome. Membrane association of the nsPs is vital for replication, and alphaviruses induce membrane invaginations called spherules, which form a microenvironment for RNA synthesis by concentrating replication components and protecting double-stranded RNA intermediates. The RCs isolated as crude membrane preparations are active in RNA synthesis in vitro, but high-resolution structure of the RC has not been achieved, and thus the arrangement of viral and possible host components remains unknown. For some alphaviruses, Ras-GTPase-activating protein (Src-homology 3 (SH3) domain)-binding proteins (G3BPs) and amphiphysins have been shown to be essential for RNA replication and are present in the RCs. Host factors offer an additional target for antivirals, as only few alphavirus polymerase inhibitors have been described.

It has been proposed that viruses can be divided into a small number of structure-based viral lineages. One of these lineages is exemplified by bacterial virus Hong Kong 97 (HK97), which represents the head-tailed dsDNA bacteriophages. Seemingly similar viruses also infect archaea. Here we demonstrate using genomic analysis, electron cryomicroscopy, and image reconstruction that the major coat protein fold of newly isolated archaeal Haloarcula sinaiiensis tailed virus 1 has the canonical coat protein fold of HK97. Although it has been anticipated previously, this is physical evidence that bacterial and archaeal head-tailed viruses share a common architectural principle. The HK97-like fold has previously been recognized also in herpesviruses, and this study expands the HK97-like lineage to viruses from all three domains of life. This is only the second established lineage to include archaeal, bacterial, and eukaryotic viruses. Thus, our findings support the hypothesis that the last common universal ancestor of cellular organisms was infected by a number of different viruses.