1
|
Negus SS. An economon model of drug addiction. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2024; 241:417-425. [PMID: 38277005 PMCID: PMC10884072 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-024-06535-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2024] [Accepted: 01/14/2024] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
The term "economon" (i:'ka.nə.muhn; plural: economa) is introduced here to describe an economic unit composed of two participants engaged in mutually reinforcing operant behavior. Economa are basic building blocks of transactional behavior that aggregate in social networks called economies. In a drug-addiction economon, operant behavior by one participant (the "supplier") provides an addictive drug as a reinforcer to the second participant (a "Person with Substance Use Disorder; PwSUD"). Reciprocal operant behavior by the PwSUD usually provides money as a reinforcer to the supplier. After defining the features of the drug-addiction economon, this article discusses its implications for (1) prevalence and virulence of drug addiction, (2) opportunities for drug-addiction research in general, (3) the "brain-disease model of addiction" in particular, and (4) factors that mitigate harm or promote risk of drug addiction. The economon model is intended to provide a novel perspective on the uniquely human disorder of drug addiction.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- S Stevens Negus
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Virginia Commonwealth University, 410 N. 12 St, Richmond, VA, 23298, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Beverley J, Babcock S, Carvalho G, Cowell LG, Duesing S, He Y, Hurley R, Merrell E, Scheuermann RH, Smith B. Coordinating virus research: The Virus Infectious Disease Ontology. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0285093. [PMID: 38236918 PMCID: PMC10796065 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0285093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2022] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 01/22/2024] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic prompted immense work on the investigation of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Rapid, accurate, and consistent interpretation of generated data is thereby of fundamental concern. Ontologies-structured, controlled, vocabularies-are designed to support consistency of interpretation, and thereby to prevent the development of data silos. This paper describes how ontologies are serving this purpose in the COVID-19 research domain, by following principles of the Open Biological and Biomedical Ontology (OBO) Foundry and by reusing existing ontologies such as the Infectious Disease Ontology (IDO) Core, which provides terminological content common to investigations of all infectious diseases. We report here on the development of an IDO extension, the Virus Infectious Disease Ontology (VIDO), a reference ontology covering viral infectious diseases. We motivate term and definition choices, showcase reuse of terms from existing OBO ontologies, illustrate how ontological decisions were motivated by relevant life science research, and connect VIDO to the Coronavirus Infectious Disease Ontology (CIDO). We next use terms from these ontologies to annotate selections from life science research on SARS-CoV-2, highlighting how ontologies employing a common upper-level vocabulary may be seamlessly interwoven. Finally, we outline future work, including bacteria and fungus infectious disease reference ontologies currently under development, then cite uses of VIDO and CIDO in host-pathogen data analytics, electronic health record annotation, and ontology conflict-resolution projects.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- John Beverley
- Department of Philosophy, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, United States of America
- National Center for Ontological Research, Buffalo, NY, United States of America
| | - Shane Babcock
- National Center for Ontological Research, Buffalo, NY, United States of America
- Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Riverside, OH, United States of America
| | - Gustavo Carvalho
- Department of Cognitive Science, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States of America
| | - Lindsay G. Cowell
- Department of Clinical Sciences, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States of America
| | - Sebastian Duesing
- Department of Philosophy, Loyola University, Chicago, IL, United States of America
| | - Yongqun He
- Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics, University of Michigan Medical School, He Group, Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America
| | - Regina Hurley
- National Center for Ontological Research, Buffalo, NY, United States of America
- Department of Philosophy, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States of America
| | - Eric Merrell
- Department of Philosophy, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, United States of America
- National Center for Ontological Research, Buffalo, NY, United States of America
| | - Richard H. Scheuermann
- Department of Informatics, J. Craig Venter Institute, La Jolla, CA, United States of America
- Department of Pathology, University of California, San Diego, CA, United States of America
- Division of Vaccine Discovery, La Jolla Institute for Immunology, La Jolla, CA, United States of America
| | - Barry Smith
- Department of Philosophy, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, United States of America
- National Center for Ontological Research, Buffalo, NY, United States of America
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Lequime S. The sociality continuum of viruses: a commentary on Leeks et al. 2023. J Evol Biol 2023; 36:1568-1570. [PMID: 37975506 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.14247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2023] [Revised: 10/23/2023] [Accepted: 10/25/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Lequime
- Cluster of Microbial Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Theillet FX, Luchinat E. In-cell NMR: Why and how? PROGRESS IN NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE SPECTROSCOPY 2022; 132-133:1-112. [PMID: 36496255 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnmrs.2022.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2021] [Revised: 04/19/2022] [Accepted: 04/27/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
NMR spectroscopy has been applied to cells and tissues analysis since its beginnings, as early as 1950. We have attempted to gather here in a didactic fashion the broad diversity of data and ideas that emerged from NMR investigations on living cells. Covering a large proportion of the periodic table, NMR spectroscopy permits scrutiny of a great variety of atomic nuclei in all living organisms non-invasively. It has thus provided quantitative information on cellular atoms and their chemical environment, dynamics, or interactions. We will show that NMR studies have generated valuable knowledge on a vast array of cellular molecules and events, from water, salts, metabolites, cell walls, proteins, nucleic acids, drugs and drug targets, to pH, redox equilibria and chemical reactions. The characterization of such a multitude of objects at the atomic scale has thus shaped our mental representation of cellular life at multiple levels, together with major techniques like mass-spectrometry or microscopies. NMR studies on cells has accompanied the developments of MRI and metabolomics, and various subfields have flourished, coined with appealing names: fluxomics, foodomics, MRI and MRS (i.e. imaging and localized spectroscopy of living tissues, respectively), whole-cell NMR, on-cell ligand-based NMR, systems NMR, cellular structural biology, in-cell NMR… All these have not grown separately, but rather by reinforcing each other like a braided trunk. Hence, we try here to provide an analytical account of a large ensemble of intricately linked approaches, whose integration has been and will be key to their success. We present extensive overviews, firstly on the various types of information provided by NMR in a cellular environment (the "why", oriented towards a broad readership), and secondly on the employed NMR techniques and setups (the "how", where we discuss the past, current and future methods). Each subsection is constructed as a historical anthology, showing how the intrinsic properties of NMR spectroscopy and its developments structured the accessible knowledge on cellular phenomena. Using this systematic approach, we sought i) to make this review accessible to the broadest audience and ii) to highlight some early techniques that may find renewed interest. Finally, we present a brief discussion on what may be potential and desirable developments in the context of integrative studies in biology.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Francois-Xavier Theillet
- Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC), 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
| | - Enrico Luchinat
- Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Agro-Alimentari, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, Piazza Goidanich 60, 47521 Cesena, Italy; CERM - Magnetic Resonance Center, and Neurofarba Department, Università degli Studi di Firenze, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Aktaş E, Özdemir Özgentürk N. Revealing In Silico that Bacteria's Outer Membrane Proteins may Help our Bodies Replicate and Carry Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2. Bioinform Biol Insights 2022; 16:11779322221116320. [PMID: 35966808 PMCID: PMC9364190 DOI: 10.1177/11779322221116320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2022] [Accepted: 07/10/2022] [Indexed: 10/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Some studies in the literature show that viruses can affect bacteria directly or indirectly, and viruses use their own specific ways to do these interactions. Furthermore, it is said that bacteria are prone to attachment mammalian cells during a viral illness using their surface proteins that bind to host extracellular matrix proteins such as fibronectin, fibrinogen, vitronectin, and elastin. A recent study identified the cooperation between bacteria and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in silico, in vitro, and in vivo. Like this study, we hypothesized that more bacteria protein might help SARS-CoV-2 transport and attach to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). The bacteria's outer membrane proteins (OMPs) we chose were not random; they had to be on the outer surface of the bacteria because these proteins on the outer surface should have a high probability of interacting with both the spike protein and ACE2. We obtained by using bioinformatics tools that there may be binding between both ACE2 and spike protein of these bacteria's OMPs. Protein-protein interaction results also supported our hypothesis. Therefore, based on our predicted results, these bacteria OMPs may help SARS-CoV-2 move in our body, and both find and attach to ACE2. It is expected that these inferences obtained from the bioinformatics results may play a role in the SARS-CoV-2 virus reaching host cells. Thus, it may bring a different perspective to studies on how the virus can infect host cells.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Emre Aktaş
- Faculty of Art and Science, Molecular Biology and Genetics, Yıldız Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Nehir Özdemir Özgentürk
- Faculty of Art and Science, Molecular Biology and Genetics, Yıldız Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Cationic Surfactants as Disinfectants against SARS-CoV-2. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23126645. [PMID: 35743090 PMCID: PMC9224290 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23126645] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2022] [Revised: 06/10/2022] [Accepted: 06/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The virucidal activity of a series of cationic surfactants differing in the length and number of hydrophobic tails (at the same hydrophilic head) and the structure of the hydrophilic head (at the same length of the hydrophobic n-alkyl tail) was compared. It was shown that an increase in the length and number of hydrophobic tails, as well as the presence of a benzene ring in the surfactant molecule, enhance the virucidal activity of the surfactant against SARS-CoV-2. This may be due to the more pronounced ability of such surfactants to penetrate and destroy the phospholipid membrane of the virus. Among the cationic surfactants studied, didodecyldimethylammonium bromide was shown to be the most efficient as a disinfectant, its 50% effective concentration (EC50) being equal to 0.016 mM. Two surfactants (didodecyldimethylammonium bromide and benzalkonium chloride) can deactivate SARS-CoV-2 in as little as 5 s.
Collapse
|
7
|
Nowak PG, Stencel A. How many ways can you die? Multiple biological deaths as a consequence of the multiple concepts of an organism. THEORETICAL MEDICINE AND BIOETHICS 2022; 43:127-154. [PMID: 35859085 PMCID: PMC9477939 DOI: 10.1007/s11017-022-09583-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/03/2022] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
According to the mainstream position in the bioethical definition of death debate, death is to be equated with the cessation of an organism. Given such a perspective, some bioethicists uphold the position that brain-dead patients are dead, while others claim that they are alive. Regardless of the specific opinion on the status of brain-dead patients, the mere bioethical concept of death, according to many bioethicists, has the merit of being unanimous and univocal, as well as grounded in biology. In the present article, we challenge such a thesis. We provide evidence that theoretical biology operates with a plurality of equally valid organismic concepts, which imply different conclusions regarding the organismal status of a brain-dead patient. Moreover, the theoretical biology concepts of an organism are very distant from the view on an organism that appears by way of bioethicists theorizing on death. We conclude that if death is to be understood as the cessation of an organism, there is no single correct answer to the question of whether a brain-dead patient is alive or dead.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Piotr Grzegorz Nowak
- Institute of Philosophy, Jagiellonian University, Grodzka 52, 31-044 Kraków, Poland
| | - Adrian Stencel
- Institute of Philosophy, Jagiellonian University, Grodzka 52, 31-044 Kraków, Poland
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Abstract
The debate over whether viruses are living organisms tends to be paradigmatically determined. The metabolic paradigm denies that they are, while new research evidences the opposite. The purpose of this paper is to deliver a generic model for viral contexts that explains why viruses are alive. It will take a systems biology approach, with a qualitative part (using metacybernetics) to provide deeper explanations of viral contexts, and a quantitative part (using Fisher Information deriving from the variational principle of Extreme Physical Information) which is in principle able to take measurements and predict outcomes. The modelling process provides an extended view of the epigenetic processes of viruses. The generic systems biology model will depict viruses as autonomous entities with metaphysical processes of autopoietic self-organisation and adaptation, enabling them to maintain their physical viability and hence, within their populations, mutate and evolve. The autopoietic epigenetic processes are shown to describe their capability to change, and these are both qualitatively and quantitatively explored, the latter providing an approach to make measurements of physical phenomena under uncertainty. Viruses maintain their fitness when they are able to maintain their stability, and this is indicated by information flow efficacy. A brief case study is presented on the COVID-19 virus from the perspective that it is a living system, and this includes outcome predictions given Fisher Information conditions for known contexts.
Collapse
|
9
|
Spang A, Mahendrarajah TA, Offre P, Stairs CW. Evolving perspective on the origin and diversification of cellular life and the virosphere. Genome Biol Evol 2022; 14:6537539. [PMID: 35218347 PMCID: PMC9169541 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evac034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The tree of life (TOL) is a powerful framework to depict the evolutionary history of cellular organisms through time, from our microbial origins to the diversification of multicellular eukaryotes that shape the visible biosphere today. During the past decades, our perception of the TOL has fundamentally changed, in part, due to profound methodological advances, which allowed a more objective approach to studying organismal and viral diversity and led to the discovery of major new branches in the TOL as well as viral lineages. Phylogenetic and comparative genomics analyses of these data have, among others, revolutionized our understanding of the deep roots and diversity of microbial life, the origin of the eukaryotic cell, eukaryotic diversity, as well as the origin, and diversification of viruses. In this review, we provide an overview of some of the recent discoveries on the evolutionary history of cellular organisms and their viruses and discuss a variety of complementary techniques that we consider crucial for making further progress in our understanding of the TOL and its interconnection with the virosphere.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anja Spang
- NIOZ, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry, Utrecht University, The Netherlands and 1790 AB Den Burg.,Department of Cell- and Molecular Biology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Sweden SE-75123, Uppsala
| | - Tara A Mahendrarajah
- NIOZ, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry, Utrecht University, The Netherlands and 1790 AB Den Burg
| | - Pierre Offre
- NIOZ, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry, Utrecht University, The Netherlands and 1790 AB Den Burg
| | - Courtney W Stairs
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Sweden Sölvegatan 35, 223 62 Lund
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Viroids and Viroid-like Circular RNAs: Do They Descend from Primordial Replicators? LIFE (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 12:life12010103. [PMID: 35054497 PMCID: PMC8781251 DOI: 10.3390/life12010103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2021] [Revised: 01/10/2022] [Accepted: 01/11/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Viroids are a unique class of plant pathogens that consist of small circular RNA molecules, between 220 and 450 nucleotides in size. Viroids encode no proteins and are the smallest known infectious agents. Viroids replicate via the rolling circle mechanism, producing multimeric intermediates which are cleaved to unit length either by ribozymes formed from both polarities of the viroid genomic RNA or by coopted host RNAses. Many viroid-like small circular RNAs are satellites of plant RNA viruses. Ribozyviruses, represented by human hepatitis delta virus, are larger viroid-like circular RNAs that additionally encode the viral nucleocapsid protein. It has been proposed that viroids are direct descendants of primordial RNA replicons that were present in the hypothetical RNA world. We argue, however, that much later origin of viroids, possibly, from recently discovered mobile genetic elements known as retrozymes, is a far more parsimonious evolutionary scenario. Nevertheless, viroids and viroid-like circular RNAs are minimal replicators that are likely to be close to the theoretical lower limit of replicator size and arguably comprise the paradigm for replicator emergence. Thus, although viroid-like replicators are unlikely to be direct descendants of primordial RNA replicators, the study of the diversity and evolution of these ultimate genetic parasites can yield insights into the earliest stages of the evolution of life.
Collapse
|
11
|
Naqvi AAT, Anjum F, Shafie A, Badar S, Elasbali AM, Yadav DK, Hassan MI. Investigating host-virus interaction mechanism and phylogenetic analysis of viral proteins involved in the pathogenesis. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0261497. [PMID: 34914801 PMCID: PMC8675761 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0261497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2021] [Accepted: 12/02/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Since the emergence of yellow fever in the Americas and the devastating 1918 influenza pandemic, biologists and clinicians have been drawn to human infecting viruses to understand their mechanisms of infection better and develop effective therapeutics against them. However, the complex molecular and cellular processes that these viruses use to infect and multiply in human cells have been a source of great concern for the scientific community since the discovery of the first human infecting virus. Viral disease outbreaks, such as the recent COVID-19 pandemic caused by a novel coronavirus, have claimed millions of lives and caused significant economic damage worldwide. In this study, we investigated the mechanisms of host-virus interaction and the molecular machinery involved in the pathogenesis of some common human viruses. We also performed a phylogenetic analysis of viral proteins involved in host-virus interaction to understand the changes in the sequence organization of these proteins during evolution for various strains of viruses to gain insights into the viral origin's evolutionary perspectives.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Farah Anjum
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia
| | - Alaa Shafie
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia
| | - Sufian Badar
- Department of Computer Science, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India
| | - Abdelbaset Mohamed Elasbali
- Clinical Laboratory Science, College of Applied Medical Sciences-Qurayyat, Jouf University, Sakakah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Dharmendra Kumar Yadav
- College of Pharmacy, Gachon University of Medicine and Science, Hambakmoeiro, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon City, South Korea
| | - Md. Imtaiyaz Hassan
- Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Basic Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi, India
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Koonin EV, Dolja VV, Krupovic M, Kuhn JH. Viruses Defined by the Position of the Virosphere within the Replicator Space. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 2021; 85:e0019320. [PMID: 34468181 PMCID: PMC8483706 DOI: 10.1128/mmbr.00193-20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Originally, viruses were defined as miniscule infectious agents that passed through filters that retain even the smallest cells. Subsequently, viruses were considered obligate intracellular parasites whose reproduction depends on their cellular hosts for energy supply and molecular building blocks. However, these features are insufficient to unambiguously define viruses as they are broadly understood today. We outline possible approaches to define viruses and explore the boundaries of the virosphere within the virtual space of replicators and the relationships between viruses and other types of replicators. Regardless of how, exactly, viruses are defined, viruses clearly have evolved on many occasions from nonviral replicators, such as plasmids, by recruiting host proteins to become virion components. Conversely, other types of replicators have repeatedly evolved from viruses. Thus, the virosphere is a dynamic entity with extensive evolutionary traffic across its boundaries. We argue that the virosphere proper, here termed orthovirosphere, consists of a distinct variety of replicators that encode structural proteins encasing the replicators' genomes, thereby providing protection and facilitating transmission among hosts. Numerous and diverse replicators, such as virus-derived but capsidless RNA and DNA elements, or defective viruses occupy the zone surrounding the orthovirosphere in the virtual replicator space. We define this zone as the perivirosphere. Although intense debates on the nature of certain replicators that adorn the internal and external boundaries of the virosphere will likely continue, we present an operational definition of virus that recently has been accepted by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eugene V. Koonin
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Valerian V. Dolja
- Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA
| | - Mart Krupovic
- Archaeal Virology Unit, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
| | - Jens H. Kuhn
- Integrated Research Facility at Fort Detrick, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, Maryland, USA
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
The antimicrobial and immunomodulatory effects of Ionophores for the treatment of human infection. J Inorg Biochem 2021; 227:111661. [PMID: 34896767 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2021.111661] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2021] [Revised: 10/27/2021] [Accepted: 11/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Ionophores are a diverse class of synthetic and naturally occurring ion transporter compounds which demonstrate both direct and in-direct antimicrobial properties against a broad panel of bacterial, fungal, viral and parasitic pathogens. In addition, ionophores can regulate the host-immune response during communicable and non-communicable disease states. Although the clinical use of ionophores such as Amphotericin B, Bedaquiline and Ivermectin highlight the utility of ionophores in modern medicine, for many other ionophore compounds issues surrounding toxicity, bioavailability or lack of in vivo efficacy studies have hindered clinical development. The antimicrobial and immunomodulating properties of a range of compounds with characteristics of ionophores remain largely unexplored. As such, ionophores remain a latent therapeutic avenue to address both the global burden of antimicrobial resistance, and the unmet clinical need for new antimicrobial therapies. This review will provide an overview of the broad-spectrum antimicrobial and immunomodulatory properties of ionophores, and their potential uses in clinical medicine for combatting infection.
Collapse
|
14
|
Lunstrum E, Ahuja N, Braun B, Collard R, Lopez PJ, Wong RW. More-Than-Human and Deeply Human Perspectives on COVID-19. ANTIPODE 2021; 53:1503-1525. [PMID: 34230712 PMCID: PMC8251244 DOI: 10.1111/anti.12730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2020] [Revised: 01/23/2021] [Accepted: 02/24/2021] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
This multi-authored contribution explores what the COVID-19 pandemic demands of critical inquiry with a focus on the more-than-human. We show how COVID-19 is a complex series of multispecies encounters shaped by humans, non-human animals, and of course viruses. Central to these encounters is a politics of difference in which certain human lives are protected and helped to flourish while others, both human and animal, are forgotten if not sacrificed. Such difference encompasses practices of racialisation and racism, healthcare austerity, the circulation of capital, border-making, intervention into non-human nature, wildlife trade bans, anthropocentrism, and the exploitation of animal test subjects. The contributions highlight how COVID-19 provides a needed opportunity to unite new materialist and anti-racist, anti-colonial scholarship as well as reimagine more radically sustainable multispecies futures. This requires embracing anti-colonial humility, confronting debts owed to lab animal frontline workers, and rethinking economic systems that helped unleash COVID-19 and ensured it became a disaster.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth Lunstrum
- School of Public Service, Environmental Studies and Global StudiesBoise State UniversityBoiseIDUSA
| | - Neel Ahuja
- Feminist Studies Department & Critical Race and Ethnic StudiesUniversity of CaliforniaSanta CruzCAUSA
| | - Bruce Braun
- Department of Geography, Environment, and SocietyUniversity of MinnesotaMinneapolisMNUSA
| | | | | | - Rebecca W.Y. Wong
- Department of Social and Behavioural SciencesCity University of Hong KongKowloonHong Kong
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Abstract
Background Many traditional biological concepts continue to be debated by biologists, scientists and philosophers of science. The specific objective of this brief reflection is to offer an alternative vision to the definition of life taking as a starting point the traits common to all living beings. Results and Conclusions Thus, I define life as a process that takes place in highly organized organic structures and is characterized by being preprogrammed, interactive, adaptative and evolutionary. If life is the process, living beings are the system in which this process takes place. I also wonder whether viruses can be considered living things or not. Taking as a starting point my definition of life and, of course, on what others have thought about it, I am in favor of considering viruses as living beings. I base this conclusion on the fact that viruses satisfy all the vital characteristics common to all living things and on the role they have played in the evolution of species. Finally, I argue that if there were life elsewhere in the universe, it would be very similar to what we know on this planet because the laws of physics and the composition of matter are universal and because of the principle of the inexorability of life.
Collapse
|
16
|
Chaudhari HV, Inamdar MM, Kondabagil K. Scaling relation between genome length and particle size of viruses provides insights into viral life history. iScience 2021; 24:102452. [PMID: 34113814 PMCID: PMC8169800 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.102452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2021] [Revised: 03/23/2021] [Accepted: 04/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In terms of genome and particle sizes, viruses exhibit great diversity. With the discovery of several nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses (NCLDVs) and jumbo phages, the relationship between particle and genome sizes has emerged as an important criterion for understanding virus evolution. We use allometric scaling of capsid volume with the genome length of different groups of viruses to shed light on its relationship with virus life history. The allometric exponents for icosahedral dsDNA bacteriophages and NCDLVs were found to be 1 and 2, respectively, indicating that with increasing capsid size DNA packaging density remains the same in bacteriophages but decreases for NCLDVs. We argue that the exponents are largely shaped by their entry mechanism and capsid mechanical stability. We further show that these allometric size parameters are also intricately linked to the relative energy costs of translation and replication in viruses and can have further implications on viral life history. Capsid and genome size allometric exponent gives insights into viral life history The allometric exponent of NCLDVs is almost twice that of bacteriophages The exponent is largely shaped by the viral entry mechanism and capsid stability The relaxed genome size constraint allows large viruses to evolve greater autonomy
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Harshali V Chaudhari
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076, India
| | - Mandar M Inamdar
- Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076, India
| | - Kiran Kondabagil
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076, India
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Dhanker R, Hussain T, Tyagi P, Singh KJ, Kamble SS. The Emerging Trend of Bio-Engineering Approaches for Microbial Nanomaterial Synthesis and Its Applications. Front Microbiol 2021; 12:638003. [PMID: 33796089 PMCID: PMC8008120 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.638003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2020] [Accepted: 02/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Micro-organisms colonized the world before the multi-cellular organisms evolved. With the advent of microscopy, their existence became evident to the mankind and also the vast processes they regulate, that are in direct interest of the human beings. One such process that intrigued the researchers is the ability to grow in presence of toxic metals. The process seemed to be simple with the metal ions being sequestrated into the inclusion bodies or cell surfaces enabling the conversion into nontoxic nanostructures. However, the discovery of genome sequencing techniques highlighted the genetic makeup of these microbes as a quintessential aspect of these phenomena. The findings of metal resistance genes (MRG) in these microbes showed a rather complex regulation of these processes. Since most of these MRGs are plasmid encoded they can be transferred horizontally. With the discovery of nanoparticles and their many applications from polymer chemistry to drug delivery, the demand for innovative techniques of nanoparticle synthesis increased dramatically. It is now established that microbial synthesis of nanoparticles provides numerous advantages over the existing chemical methods. However, it is the explicit use of biotechnology, molecular biology, metabolic engineering, synthetic biology, and genetic engineering tools that revolutionized the world of microbial nanotechnology. Detailed study of the micro and even nanolevel assembly of microbial life also intrigued biologists and engineers to generate molecular motors that mimic bacterial flagellar motor. In this review, we highlight the importance and tremendous hidden potential of bio-engineering tools in exploiting the area of microbial nanoparticle synthesis. We also highlight the application oriented specific modulations that can be done in the stages involved in the synthesis of these nanoparticles. Finally, the role of these nanoparticles in the natural ecosystem is also addressed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Raunak Dhanker
- Department of Basic and Applied Sciences, School of Engineering and Sciences, GD Goenka University, Gurugram, India
| | - Touseef Hussain
- Department of Botany, Faculty of Life Sciences, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India
| | - Priyanka Tyagi
- Department of Basic and Applied Sciences, School of Engineering and Sciences, GD Goenka University, Gurugram, India
| | - Kawal Jeet Singh
- Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University, Noida, India
| | - Shashank S. Kamble
- Department of Basic and Applied Sciences, School of Engineering and Sciences, GD Goenka University, Gurugram, India
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Farnsworth KD. An organisational systems-biology view of viruses explains why they are not alive. Biosystems 2020; 200:104324. [PMID: 33307144 DOI: 10.1016/j.biosystems.2020.104324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2020] [Revised: 12/03/2020] [Accepted: 12/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Whether or not viruses are alive remains unsettled. Discoveries of giant viruses with translational genes and large genomes have kept the debate active. Here, a fresh approach is introduced, based on the organisational definition of life from within systems biology. It views living as a circular process of self-organisation and self-construction which is 'closed to efficient causation'. How information combines with force to fabricate and organise environmentally obtained materials, given an energy source, is here explained as a physical embodiment of informational constraint. Comparing a general virus replication cycle with Rosen's (M,R)-system shows it to be linear, rather than closed. Some viruses contribute considerable organisational information, but so far none is known to supply all required, nor the material nor energy necessary to complete their replication cycle. As a result, no known virus replication cycle is closed to efficient causation: unlike cellular obligate parasites, viruses do not match the causal structure of an (M,R)-system. Analysis based in identifying a Markov blanket in causal structure proved inconclusive, but using Integrated Information Theory on a Boolean representation, it was possible to show that the causal structure of a virocell is not different from that of the host cell.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Keith D Farnsworth
- School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, 19 Chlorine Gardens, Belfast BT95DL, UK.
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Mughal F, Nasir A, Caetano-Anollés G. The origin and evolution of viruses inferred from fold family structure. Arch Virol 2020; 165:2177-2191. [PMID: 32748179 PMCID: PMC7398281 DOI: 10.1007/s00705-020-04724-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2020] [Accepted: 05/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
The canonical frameworks of viral evolution describe viruses as cellular predecessors, reduced forms of cells, or entities that escaped cellular control. The discovery of giant viruses has changed these standard paradigms. Their genetic, proteomic and structural complexities resemble those of cells, prompting a redefinition and reclassification of viruses. In a previous genome-wide analysis of the evolution of structural domains in proteomes, with domains defined at the fold superfamily level, we found the origins of viruses intertwined with those of ancient cells. Here, we extend these data-driven analyses to the study of fold families confirming the co-evolution of viruses and ancient cells and the genetic ability of viruses to foster molecular innovation. The results support our suggestion that viruses arose by genomic reduction from ancient cells and validate a co-evolutionary ‘symbiogenic’ model of viral origins.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Fizza Mughal
- Evolutionary Bioinformatics Laboratory, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
- Illinois Informatics Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Arshan Nasir
- Theoretical Biology and Biophysics Group, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, USA
- Department of Biosciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Islamabad, Pakistan
| | - Gustavo Caetano-Anollés
- Evolutionary Bioinformatics Laboratory, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA.
- Illinois Informatics Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Abstract
The article presents some introductory remarks on viruses and in general how they lead to
diseases. With reference to same, it discusses the emergence of a fairly novel coronavirus, 2019-
CoV-2 and its possible medication.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Satya P. Gupta
- Meerut Institute of Engineering and Technology, Meerut, India
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Koonin EV, Dolja VV, Krupovic M, Varsani A, Wolf YI, Yutin N, Zerbini FM, Kuhn JH. Global Organization and Proposed Megataxonomy of the Virus World. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 2020; 84:e00061-19. [PMID: 32132243 PMCID: PMC7062200 DOI: 10.1128/mmbr.00061-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 295] [Impact Index Per Article: 73.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Viruses and mobile genetic elements are molecular parasites or symbionts that coevolve with nearly all forms of cellular life. The route of virus replication and protein expression is determined by the viral genome type. Comparison of these routes led to the classification of viruses into seven "Baltimore classes" (BCs) that define the major features of virus reproduction. However, recent phylogenomic studies identified multiple evolutionary connections among viruses within each of the BCs as well as between different classes. Due to the modular organization of virus genomes, these relationships defy simple representation as lines of descent but rather form complex networks. Phylogenetic analyses of virus hallmark genes combined with analyses of gene-sharing networks show that replication modules of five BCs (three classes of RNA viruses and two classes of reverse-transcribing viruses) evolved from a common ancestor that encoded an RNA-directed RNA polymerase or a reverse transcriptase. Bona fide viruses evolved from this ancestor on multiple, independent occasions via the recruitment of distinct cellular proteins as capsid subunits and other structural components of virions. The single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) viruses are a polyphyletic class, with different groups evolving by recombination between rolling-circle-replicating plasmids, which contributed the replication protein, and positive-sense RNA viruses, which contributed the capsid protein. The double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) viruses are distributed among several large monophyletic groups and arose via the combination of distinct structural modules with equally diverse replication modules. Phylogenomic analyses reveal the finer structure of evolutionary connections among RNA viruses and reverse-transcribing viruses, ssDNA viruses, and large subsets of dsDNA viruses. Taken together, these analyses allow us to outline the global organization of the virus world. Here, we describe the key aspects of this organization and propose a comprehensive hierarchical taxonomy of viruses.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eugene V Koonin
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Valerian V Dolja
- Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA
| | - Mart Krupovic
- Institut Pasteur, Archaeal Virology Unit, Department of Microbiology, Paris, France
| | - Arvind Varsani
- The Biodesign Center for Fundamental and Applied Microbiomics, Center for Evolution and Medicine, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
- Structural Biology Research Unit, Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, University of Cape Town, Observatory, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Yuri I Wolf
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Natalya Yutin
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - F Murilo Zerbini
- Departamento de Fitopatologia/Bioagro, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Jens H Kuhn
- Integrated Research Facility at Fort Detrick, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, Maryland, USA
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Ren YF, Rasubala L, Malmstrom H, Eliav E. Dental Care and Oral Health under the Clouds of COVID-19. JDR Clin Trans Res 2020; 5:202-210. [PMID: 32330078 DOI: 10.1177/2380084420924385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER STATEMENT This commentary provides a timely evidence-based overview on the impact of COVID-19 on dental care and oral health and identifies gaps in protection of patients and staff in dental settings. Oral symptoms are prominent before fever and cough occur. Dental professionals may play an important role in early identification and diagnosis of patients with COVID-19.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Y F Ren
- Eastman Institute for Oral Health, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - L Rasubala
- Eastman Institute for Oral Health, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - H Malmstrom
- Eastman Institute for Oral Health, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - E Eliav
- Eastman Institute for Oral Health, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Filipić A, Gutierrez-Aguirre I, Primc G, Mozetič M, Dobnik D. Cold Plasma, a New Hope in the Field of Virus Inactivation. Trends Biotechnol 2020; 38:1278-1291. [PMID: 32418663 PMCID: PMC7164895 DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2020.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2020] [Revised: 04/08/2020] [Accepted: 04/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Viruses can infect all cell-based organisms, from bacteria to humans, animals, and plants. They are responsible for numerous cases of hospitalization, many deaths, and widespread crop destruction, all of which result in an enormous medical, economical, and biological burden. Each of the currently used decontamination methods has important drawbacks. Cold plasma (CP) has entered this field as a novel, efficient, and clean solution for virus inactivation. We present recent developments in this promising field of CP-mediated virus inactivation, and describe the applications and mechanisms of the inactivation. This is particularly relevant because viral pandemics, such as COVID-19, highlight the need for alternative virus inactivation methods to replace, complement, or upgrade existing procedures. Pathogenic viruses are becoming an increasing burden for health, agriculture, and the global economy. Classic disinfection methods have several drawbacks, and innovative solutions for virus inactivation are urgently needed. CP can be used as an environmentally friendly tool for virus inactivation. It can inactivate different human, animal, and plant viruses in various matrices. When using CP for virus inactivation it is important to set the correct parameters and to choose treatment durations that allow particles to interact with the contaminated material. Reactive oxygen and/or nitrogen species have been shown to be responsible for virus inactivation through effects on capsid proteins and/or nucleic acids. The development of more accurate methods will provide information on which plasma particles are crucial in each experiment, and how exactly they affect viruses.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Arijana Filipić
- Department of Biotechnology and Systems Biology, National Institute of Biology, Večna Pot 111, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, Jamova Cesta 39, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
| | - Ion Gutierrez-Aguirre
- Department of Biotechnology and Systems Biology, National Institute of Biology, Večna Pot 111, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Gregor Primc
- Department of Surface Engineering and Optoelectronics, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova Cesta 39, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Miran Mozetič
- Department of Surface Engineering and Optoelectronics, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova Cesta 39, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - David Dobnik
- Department of Biotechnology and Systems Biology, National Institute of Biology, Večna Pot 111, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Abstract
Viruses are ubiquitous parasites of cellular life and the most abundant biological entities on Earth. It is widely accepted that viruses are polyphyletic, but a consensus scenario for their ultimate origin is still lacking. Traditionally, three scenarios for the origin of viruses have been considered: descent from primordial, precellular genetic elements, reductive evolution from cellular ancestors and escape of genes from cellular hosts, achieving partial replicative autonomy and becoming parasitic genetic elements. These classical scenarios give different timelines for the origin(s) of viruses and do not explain the provenance of the two key functional modules that are responsible, respectively, for viral genome replication and virion morphogenesis. Here, we outline a 'chimeric' scenario under which different types of primordial, selfish replicons gave rise to viruses by recruiting host proteins for virion formation. We also propose that new groups of viruses have repeatedly emerged at all stages of the evolution of life, often through the displacement of ancestral structural and genome replication genes.
Collapse
|
25
|
Jones ST. How materials can beat a virus. JOURNAL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE 2020; 55:9148-9151. [PMID: 32398885 PMCID: PMC7216856 DOI: 10.1007/s10853-020-04678-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2020] [Accepted: 04/10/2020] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Samuel T. Jones
- Department of Materials, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL UK
- The Henry Royce Institute, Alan Turing Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL UK
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Mirahmadizadeh A, Yaghobi R, Soleimanian S. Viral ecosystem: An epidemiological hypothesis. Rev Med Virol 2019; 29:e2053. [PMID: 31206234 DOI: 10.1002/rmv.2053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2019] [Revised: 04/16/2019] [Accepted: 04/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Viruses are incomplete elements that require other organisms to survive and multiply, hence constantly mutate during its evolution, resulting from adaptations in response to environmental changes such as the immune response of the host. In this line, they are responsible for many diseases, but today, there is evidence that viruses have many benefits and even have a unique ecosystem to control the different species or strain of themselves. While highlighting the benefits of some viruses and the undesirable effects of their eradication, the present review expresses the idea of the viral ecosystem and its importance, which has been supported in several studies. There are countless articles about virus-related illnesses and the undesirable effects of therapeutic interventions in eliminating the less pathogenic viruses or manipulating viral ecosystems. By simulating the viral ecosystem with an ecosystem found among the snakes, it can be assumed that the viruses have concentric zones, which its inner zone includes the most dangerous viruses for humans and each zone is surrounded and controlled by an outer zone of less dangerous viruses for humans. The outermost zone consists of viruses that are least dangerous to humans such as common cold that protect humans and possibly other living organisms against more dangerous viruses in inner zone, causing the activation of immune system by playing a unique and pivotal role in the ecosystems. Therefore, manipulating the ecosystem and disrupting the balance might have epidemics and harmful consequences for the plants, animals, and human.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alireza Mirahmadizadeh
- Non-communicable Diseases Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Ramin Yaghobi
- Transplant Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Saeede Soleimanian
- Transplant Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
|
28
|
Slingenbergh J. Animal Virus Ecology and Evolution Are Shaped by the Virus Host-Body Infiltration and Colonization Pattern. Pathogens 2019; 8:pathogens8020072. [PMID: 31130619 PMCID: PMC6631033 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens8020072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2019] [Revised: 04/19/2019] [Accepted: 05/20/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The current classification of animal viruses is largely based on the virus molecular world. Less attention is given to why and how virus fitness results from the success of virus transmission. Virus transmission reflects the infection-shedding-transmission dynamics, and with it, the organ system involvement and other, macroscopic dimensions of the host environment. This study describes the transmission ecology of the world main livestock viruses, 36 in total, a mix of RNA, DNA and retroviruses. Following an iterative process, the viruses are virtually ranked in an outer- to inner-body fashion, by organ system, on ecological grounds. Also portrayed are the shifts in virus host tropism and virus genome. The synthesis of the findings reveals a predictive virus evolution framework, based on the outer- to inner-body changes in the interplay of host environment-transmission modes-organ system involvement-host cell infection cycle-virus genome. Outer-body viruses opportunistically respond to the variation in the external environment. For example, respiratory and enteric viruses tend to be associated with poultry and pig mass rearing. Ruminant and equine viruses tend to be more deep-rooted and host-specific, and also establish themselves in the vital inner-body systems. It is concluded that the framework may assist the study of new emerging viruses and pandemic risks.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jan Slingenbergh
- Formerly Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 00153 Rome, Italy.
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Koonin EV. CRISPR: a new principle of genome engineering linked to conceptual shifts in evolutionary biology. BIOLOGY & PHILOSOPHY 2019; 34:9. [PMID: 30930513 PMCID: PMC6404382 DOI: 10.1007/s10539-018-9658-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2018] [Accepted: 11/27/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
The CRISPR-Cas systems of bacterial and archaeal adaptive immunity have become a household name among biologists and even the general public thanks to the unprecedented success of the new generation of genome editing tools utilizing Cas proteins. However, the fundamental biological features of CRISPR-Cas are of no lesser interest and have major impacts on our understanding of the evolution of antivirus defense, host-parasite coevolution, self versus non-self discrimination and mechanisms of adaptation. CRISPR-Cas systems present the best known case in point for Lamarckian evolution, i.e. generation of heritable, adaptive genomic changes in response to encounters with external factors, in this case, foreign nucleic acids. CRISPR-Cas systems employ multiple mechanisms of self versus non-self discrimination but, as is the case with immune systems in general, are nevertheless costly because autoimmunity cannot be eliminated completely. In addition to the autoimmunity, the fitness cost of CRISPR-Cas systems appears to be determined by their inhibitory effect on horizontal gene transfer, curtailing evolutionary innovation. Hence the dynamic evolution of CRISPR-Cas loci that are frequently lost and (re)acquired by archaea and bacteria. Another fundamental biological feature of CRISPR-Cas is its intimate connection with programmed cell death and dormancy induction in microbes. In this and, possibly, other immune systems, active immune response appears to be coupled to a different form of defense, namely, "altruistic" shutdown of cellular functions resulting in protection of neighboring cells. Finally, analysis of the evolutionary connections of Cas proteins reveals multiple contributions of mobile genetic elements (MGE) to the origin of various components of CRISPR-Cas systems, furthermore, different biological systems that function by genome manipulation appear to have evolved convergently from unrelated MGE. The shared features of adaptive defense systems and MGE, namely the ability to recognize and cleave unique sites in genomes, make them ideal candidates for genome editing and engineering tools.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eugene V. Koonin
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD 20894 USA
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Abstract
In the past, viruses were considered nonliving infectious particles, little more than genetic material wrapped in a protein capsid. Today, virologists are beginning to think of viruses as living organisms that can be classified phylogenetically into defined species, much like any other living organism. The primary reasons for this shift in attitude can be partially attributed to the discovery of giant viruses, having large genomes and complex regulatory systems. Aside from that, it has become obvious that viruses lead complex lives; they evolve, speciate, and participate in the evolution of all classes of living organisms. In this chapter, we will discuss the early attempts to classify viruses, and review the biologic properties of the classes of virus that contain human pathogens.
Collapse
|
31
|
Koonin EV, Yutin N. Evolution of the Large Nucleocytoplasmic DNA Viruses of Eukaryotes and Convergent Origins of Viral Gigantism. Adv Virus Res 2019; 103:167-202. [PMID: 30635076 DOI: 10.1016/bs.aivir.2018.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 102] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The Nucleocytoplasmic Large DNA Viruses (NCLDV) of eukaryotes (proposed order "Megavirales") comprise an expansive group of eukaryotic viruses that consists of the families Poxviridae, Asfarviridae, Iridoviridae, Ascoviridae, Phycodnaviridae, Marseilleviridae, Pithoviridae, and Mimiviridae, as well as Pandoraviruses, Molliviruses, and Faustoviruses that so far remain unaccounted by the official virus taxonomy. All these viruses have double-stranded DNA genomes that range in size from about 100 kilobases (kb) to more than 2.5 megabases. The viruses with genomes larger than 500kb are informally considered "giant," and the largest giant viruses surpass numerous bacteria and archaea in both particle and genome size. The discovery of giant viruses has been highly unexpected and has changed the perception of viral size and complexity, and even, arguably, the entire concept of a virus. Given that giant viruses encode multiple proteins that are universal among cellular life forms and are components of the translation system, the quintessential cellular molecular machinery, attempts have been made to incorporate these viruses in the evolutionary tree of cellular life. Moreover, evolutionary scenarios of the origin of giant viruses from a fourth, supposedly extinct domain of cellular life have been proposed. However, despite all the differences in the genome size and gene repertoire, the NCLDV can be confidently defined as monophyletic group, on the strength of the presence of about 40 genes that can be traced back to their last common ancestor. Using several most strongly conserved genes from this ancestral set, a well-resolved phylogenetic tree of the NCLDV was built and employed as the scaffold to reconstruct the history of gene gain and loss throughout the course of the evolution of this group of viruses. This reconstruction reveals extremely dynamic evolution that involved extensive gene gain and loss in many groups of viruses and indicates that giant viruses emerged independently in several clades of the NCLDV. Thus, these giants of the virus world evolved repeatedly from smaller and simpler viruses, rather than from a fourth domain of cellular life, and captured numerous genes, including those for translation system components, from eukaryotes, along with some bacterial genes. Even deeper evolutionary reconstructions reveal apparent links between the NCLDV and smaller viruses of eukaryotes, such as adenoviruses, and ultimately, derive all these viruses from tailless bacteriophages.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eugene V Koonin
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States.
| | - Natalya Yutin
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Abstract
Organisms display astonishing levels of cell and molecular diversity, including genome size, shape, and architecture. In this chapter, we review how the genome can be viewed as both a structural and an informational unit of biological diversity and explicitly define our intended meaning of genetic information. A brief overview of the characteristic features of bacterial, archaeal, and eukaryotic cell types and viruses sets the stage for a review of the differences in organization, size, and packaging strategies of their genomes. We include a detailed review of genetic elements found outside the primary chromosomal structures, as these provide insights into how genomes are sometimes viewed as incomplete informational entities. Lastly, we reassess the definition of the genome in light of recent advancements in our understanding of the diversity of genomic structures and the mechanisms by which genetic information is expressed within the cell. Collectively, these topics comprise a good introduction to genome biology for the newcomer to the field and provide a valuable reference for those developing new statistical or computation methods in genomics. This review also prepares the reader for anticipated transformations in thinking as the field of genome biology progresses.
Collapse
|
33
|
Berezovskaya F, Karev GP, Katsnelson MI, Wolf YI, Koonin EV. Stable coevolutionary regimes for genetic parasites and their hosts: you must differ to coevolve. Biol Direct 2018; 13:27. [PMID: 30621743 PMCID: PMC6822691 DOI: 10.1186/s13062-018-0230-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2018] [Accepted: 11/29/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Genetic parasites are ubiquitous satellites of cellular life forms most of which host a variety of mobile genetic elements including transposons, plasmids and viruses. Theoretical considerations and computer simulations suggest that emergence of genetic parasites is intrinsic to evolving replicator systems. Results Using methods of bifurcation analysis, we investigated the stability of simple models of replicator-parasite coevolution in a well-mixed environment. We first analyze what appears to be the simplest imaginable system of this type, one in which the parasite evolves during the replication of the host genome through a minimal mutation that renders the genome of the emerging parasite incapable of producing the replicase but able to recognize and recruit it for its own replication. This model has only trivial or “semi-trivial”, parasite-free equilibria: an inefficient parasite is outcompeted by the host and dies off, whereas an efficient one pushes the host out of existence, leading to the collapse of the entire system. We show that stable host-parasite coevolution (a non-trivial equilibrium) is possible in a modified model where the parasite is qualitatively distinct from the host replicator in that the replication of the parasite depends solely on the availability of the host but not on the carrying capacity of the environment. Conclusions We analytically determine the conditions for stable coevolution of genetic parasites and their hosts coevolution in simple mathematical models. It is shown that the evolutionary dynamics of a parasite that initially evolves from the host through the loss of the ability to replicate autonomously must substantially differ from that of the host, for a stable host-parasite coevolution regime to be established. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13062-018-0230-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Faina Berezovskaya
- Department of Mathematics, Howard University, Washington, DC, 20059, USA
| | - Georgy P Karev
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20894, USA
| | - Mikhail I Katsnelson
- Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University, 6525AJ, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Yuri I Wolf
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20894, USA
| | - Eugene V Koonin
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20894, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
34
|
Abstract
The nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses (NCLDVs) are a monophyletic group of diverse eukaryotic viruses that reproduce primarily in the cytoplasm of the infected cells and include the largest viruses currently known: the giant mimiviruses, pandoraviruses, and pithoviruses. With virions measuring up to 1.5 μm and genomes of up to 2.5 Mb, the giant viruses break the now-outdated definition of a virus and extend deep into the genome size range typical of bacteria and archaea. Additionally, giant viruses encode multiple proteins that are universal among cellular life forms, particularly components of the translation system, the signature cellular molecular machinery. These findings triggered hypotheses on the origin of giant viruses from cells, likely of an extinct fourth domain of cellular life, via reductive evolution. However, phylogenomic analyses reveal a different picture, namely multiple origins of giant viruses from smaller NCLDVs via acquisition of multiple genes from the eukaryotic hosts and bacteria, along with gene duplication. Thus, with regard to their origin, the giant viruses do not appear to qualitatively differ from the rest of the virosphere. However, the evolutionary forces that led to the emergence of virus gigantism remain enigmatic.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eugene V. Koonin
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Natalya Yutin
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| |
Collapse
|
35
|
Abstract
Biological systems reach hierarchical complexity that has no counterpart outside the realm of biology. Undoubtedly, biological entities obey the fundamental physical laws. Can today's physics provide an explanatory framework for understanding the evolution of biological complexity? We argue that the physical foundation for understanding the origin and evolution of complexity can be gleaned at the interface between the theory of frustrated states resulting in pattern formation in glass-like media and the theory of self-organized criticality (SOC). On the one hand, SOC has been shown to emerge in spin-glass systems of high dimensionality. On the other hand, SOC is often viewed as the most appropriate physical description of evolutionary transitions in biology. We unify these two faces of SOC by showing that emergence of complex features in biological evolution typically, if not always, is triggered by frustration that is caused by competing interactions at different organizational levels. Such competing interactions lead to SOC, which represents the optimal conditions for the emergence of complexity. Competing interactions and frustrated states permeate biology at all organizational levels and are tightly linked to the ubiquitous competition for limiting resources. This perspective extends from the comparatively simple phenomena occurring in glasses to large-scale events of biological evolution, such as major evolutionary transitions. Frustration caused by competing interactions in multidimensional systems could be the general driving force behind the emergence of complexity, within and beyond the domain of biology.
Collapse
|
36
|
Koonin EV, Krupovic M. The depths of virus exaptation. Curr Opin Virol 2018; 31:1-8. [PMID: 30071360 DOI: 10.1016/j.coviro.2018.07.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2018] [Revised: 07/13/2018] [Accepted: 07/19/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Viruses are ubiquitous parasites of cellular life forms and the most abundant biological entities on earth. The relationships between viruses and their hosts involve the continuous arms race but are by no account limited to it. Growing evidence shows that, in the course of evolution, viruses and their components are repeatedly recruited (exapted) for host functions. The functions of exapted viruses typically involve either defense from other viruses or cellular competitors or transfer of nucleic acids between cells, or storage functions. Virus exaptation can reach different depths, from recruitment of a fully functional virus to exploitation of defective, partially degraded viruses, to utilization of individual virus proteins.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eugene V Koonin
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20894, United States.
| | - Mart Krupovic
- Unité Biologie Moléculaire du Gène chez les Extrêmophiles, Department of Microbiology, Institut Pasteur, 25 rue du Docteur Roux, Paris 75015, France.
| |
Collapse
|
37
|
Four domains: The fundamental unicell and Post-Darwinian Cognition-Based Evolution. PROGRESS IN BIOPHYSICS AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2018; 140:49-73. [PMID: 29685747 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2018.04.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2018] [Accepted: 04/12/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Contemporary research supports the viewpoint that self-referential cognition is the proper definition of life. From that initiating platform, a cohesive alternative evolutionary narrative distinct from standard Neodarwinism can be presented. Cognition-Based Evolution contends that biological variation is a product of a self-reinforcing information cycle that derives from self-referential attachment to biological information space-time with its attendant ambiguities. That information cycle is embodied through obligatory linkages among energy, biological information, and communication. Successive reiterations of the information cycle enact the informational architectures of the basic unicellular forms. From that base, inter-domain and cell-cell communications enable genetic and cellular variations through self-referential natural informational engineering and cellular niche construction. Holobionts are the exclusive endpoints of that self-referential cellular engineering as obligatory multicellular combinations of the essential Four Domains: Prokaryota, Archaea, Eukaryota and the Virome. Therefore, it is advocated that these Four Domains represent the perpetual object of the living circumstance rather than the visible macroorganic forms. In consequence, biology and its evolutionary development can be appraised as the continual defense of instantiated cellular self-reference. As the survival of cells is as dependent upon limitations and boundaries as upon any freedom of action, it is proposed that selection represents only one of many forms of cellular constraint that sustain self-referential integrity.
Collapse
|
38
|
Classification of Complete Proteomes of Different Organisms and Protein Sets Based on Their Protein Distributions in Terms of Some Key Attributes of Proteins. Int J Genomics 2018; 2018:9784161. [PMID: 29686995 PMCID: PMC5857298 DOI: 10.1155/2018/9784161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2017] [Revised: 11/12/2017] [Accepted: 11/20/2017] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The existence of complete genome sequences makes it important to develop different approaches for classification of large-scale data sets and to make extraction of biological insights easier. Here, we propose an approach for classification of complete proteomes/protein sets based on protein distributions on some basic attributes. We demonstrate the usefulness of this approach by determining protein distributions in terms of two attributes: protein lengths and protein intrinsic disorder contents (ID). The protein distributions based on L and ID are surveyed for representative proteome organisms and protein sets from the three domains of life. The two-dimensional maps (designated as fingerprints here) from the protein distribution densities in the LD space defined by ln(L) and ID are then constructed. The fingerprints for different organisms and protein sets are found to be distinct with each other, and they can therefore be used for comparative studies. As a test case, phylogenetic trees have been constructed based on the protein distribution densities in the fingerprints of proteomes of organisms without performing any protein sequence comparison and alignments. The phylogenetic trees generated are biologically meaningful, demonstrating that the protein distributions in the LD space may serve as unique phylogenetic signals of the organisms at the proteome level.
Collapse
|
39
|
Koonin EV, Wolf YI, Katsnelson MI. Inevitability of the emergence and persistence of genetic parasites caused by evolutionary instability of parasite-free states. Biol Direct 2017; 12:31. [PMID: 29202832 PMCID: PMC5715634 DOI: 10.1186/s13062-017-0202-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2017] [Accepted: 11/22/2017] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Genetic parasites, including viruses and mobile genetic elements, are ubiquitous among cellular life forms, and moreover, are the most abundant biological entities on earth that harbor the bulk of the genetic diversity. Here we examine simple thought experiments to demonstrate that both the emergence of parasites in simple replicator systems and their persistence in evolving life forms are inevitable because the putative parasite-free states are evolutionarily unstable. REVIEWERS This article has been reviewed by Yitzhak Pilpel, Bojan Zagrovic, and Eric van Nimwegen.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eugene V Koonin
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20894, USA.
| | - Yuri I Wolf
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20894, USA
| | - Mikhail I Katsnelson
- Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University, 6525AJ, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
40
|
Koonin EV. Viruses and mobile elements as drivers of evolutionary transitions. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2017; 371:rstb.2015.0442. [PMID: 27431520 PMCID: PMC4958936 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/15/2016] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The history of life is punctuated by evolutionary transitions which engender emergence of new levels of biological organization that involves selection acting at increasingly complex ensembles of biological entities. Major evolutionary transitions include the origin of prokaryotic and then eukaryotic cells, multicellular organisms and eusocial animals. All or nearly all cellular life forms are hosts to diverse selfish genetic elements with various levels of autonomy including plasmids, transposons and viruses. I present evidence that, at least up to and including the origin of multicellularity, evolutionary transitions are driven by the coevolution of hosts with these genetic parasites along with sharing of ‘public goods’. Selfish elements drive evolutionary transitions at two distinct levels. First, mathematical modelling of evolutionary processes, such as evolution of primitive replicator populations or unicellular organisms, indicates that only increasing organizational complexity, e.g. emergence of multicellular aggregates, can prevent the collapse of the host–parasite system under the pressure of parasites. Second, comparative genomic analysis reveals numerous cases of recruitment of genes with essential functions in cellular life forms, including those that enable evolutionary transitions. This article is part of the themed issue ‘The major synthetic evolutionary transitions’.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eugene V Koonin
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20894, USA
| |
Collapse
|
41
|
Abstract
Selfishness is pervasive and manifests at all scales of biology, from societies, to individuals, to genetic elements within a genome. The relentless struggle to seek evolutionary advantages drives perpetual cycles of adaptation and counter-adaptation, commonly referred to as Red Queen interactions. In this review, we explore insights gleaned from molecular and genetic studies of such genetic conflicts, both extrinsic (between genomes) and intrinsic (within genomes or cells). We argue that many different characteristics of selfish genetic elements can be distilled into two types of advantages: an over-replication advantage (e.g. mobile genetic elements in genomes) and a transmission distortion advantage (e.g. meiotic drivers in populations). These two general categories may help classify disparate types of selfish genetic elements.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Richard N McLaughlin
- Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Harmit S Malik
- Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA .,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| |
Collapse
|
42
|
Emerson JB, Adams RI, Román CMB, Brooks B, Coil DA, Dahlhausen K, Ganz HH, Hartmann EM, Hsu T, Justice NB, Paulino-Lima IG, Luongo JC, Lymperopoulou DS, Gomez-Silvan C, Rothschild-Mancinelli B, Balk M, Huttenhower C, Nocker A, Vaishampayan P, Rothschild LJ. Schrödinger's microbes: Tools for distinguishing the living from the dead in microbial ecosystems. MICROBIOME 2017; 5:86. [PMID: 28810907 PMCID: PMC5558654 DOI: 10.1186/s40168-017-0285-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 236] [Impact Index Per Article: 33.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2016] [Accepted: 06/05/2017] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
While often obvious for macroscopic organisms, determining whether a microbe is dead or alive is fraught with complications. Fields such as microbial ecology, environmental health, and medical microbiology each determine how best to assess which members of the microbial community are alive, according to their respective scientific and/or regulatory needs. Many of these fields have gone from studying communities on a bulk level to the fine-scale resolution of microbial populations within consortia. For example, advances in nucleic acid sequencing technologies and downstream bioinformatic analyses have allowed for high-resolution insight into microbial community composition and metabolic potential, yet we know very little about whether such community DNA sequences represent viable microorganisms. In this review, we describe a number of techniques, from microscopy- to molecular-based, that have been used to test for viability (live/dead determination) and/or activity in various contexts, including newer techniques that are compatible with or complementary to downstream nucleic acid sequencing. We describe the compatibility of these viability assessments with high-throughput quantification techniques, including flow cytometry and quantitative PCR (qPCR). Although bacterial viability-linked community characterizations are now feasible in many environments and thus are the focus of this critical review, further methods development is needed for complex environmental samples and to more fully capture the diversity of microbes (e.g., eukaryotic microbes and viruses) and metabolic states (e.g., spores) of microbes in natural environments.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Joanne B. Emerson
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, 484 West 12th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210 USA
- Current Address: Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis, CA USA
| | - Rachel I. Adams
- Department of Plant & Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, 111 Koshland Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
| | - Clarisse M. Betancourt Román
- Biology and the Built Environment Center, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403 USA
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403 USA
| | - Brandon Brooks
- Department of Plant & Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, 111 Koshland Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
| | - David A. Coil
- Genome Center, University of California Davis, 451 Health Sciences Drive, Davis, CA 95616 USA
| | - Katherine Dahlhausen
- Genome Center, University of California Davis, 451 Health Sciences Drive, Davis, CA 95616 USA
| | - Holly H. Ganz
- Genome Center, University of California Davis, 451 Health Sciences Drive, Davis, CA 95616 USA
| | - Erica M. Hartmann
- Biology and the Built Environment Center, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403 USA
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208 USA
| | - Tiffany Hsu
- Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115 USA
- The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, 415 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02142 USA
| | - Nicholas B. Justice
- Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, 1 Cyclotron Road, 955-512L, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
| | - Ivan G. Paulino-Lima
- Universities Space Research Association, NASA Ames Research Center, Mail Stop 239-20, Building 239, room 377, Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000 USA
| | - Julia C. Luongo
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulder, 1111 Engineering Drive, 427 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309 USA
| | - Despoina S. Lymperopoulou
- Department of Plant & Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, 111 Koshland Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
| | - Cinta Gomez-Silvan
- Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, 1 Cyclotron Road, 955-512L, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94702 USA
| | | | - Melike Balk
- Department of Earth Sciences – Petrology, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80.021, 3508 TA Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Curtis Huttenhower
- Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115 USA
- The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, 415 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02142 USA
| | - Andreas Nocker
- IWW Water Centre, Moritzstrasse 26, 45476 Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany
| | - Parag Vaishampayan
- Biotechnology and Planetary Protection Group, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA USA
| | - Lynn J. Rothschild
- Planetary Sciences and Astrobiology, NASA Ames Research Center, Mail Stop 239-20, Building 239, room 361, Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000 USA
| |
Collapse
|
43
|
Postler TS, Clawson AN, Amarasinghe GK, Basler CF, Bavari S, Benko M, Blasdell KR, Briese T, Buchmeier MJ, Bukreyev A, Calisher CH, Chandran K, Charrel R, Clegg CS, Collins PL, Juan Carlos DLT, Derisi JL, Dietzgen RG, Dolnik O, Dürrwald R, Dye JM, Easton AJ, Emonet S, Formenty P, Fouchier RAM, Ghedin E, Gonzalez JP, Harrach B, Hewson R, Horie M, Jiang D, Kobinger G, Kondo H, Kropinski AM, Krupovic M, Kurath G, Lamb RA, Leroy EM, Lukashevich IS, Maisner A, Mushegian AR, Netesov SV, Nowotny N, Patterson JL, Payne SL, PaWeska JT, Peters CJ, Radoshitzky SR, Rima BK, Romanowski V, Rubbenstroth D, Sabanadzovic S, Sanfaçon H, Salvato MS, Schwemmle M, Smither SJ, Stenglein MD, Stone DM, Takada A, Tesh RB, Tomonaga K, Tordo N, Towner JS, Vasilakis N, Volchkov VE, Wahl-Jensen V, Walker PJ, Wang LF, Varsani A, Whitfield AE, Zerbini FM, Kuhn JH. Possibility and Challenges of Conversion of Current Virus Species Names to Linnaean Binomials. Syst Biol 2017; 66:463-473. [PMID: 27798405 PMCID: PMC5837305 DOI: 10.1093/sysbio/syw096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2016] [Revised: 10/13/2016] [Accepted: 10/17/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Botanical, mycological, zoological, and prokaryotic species names follow the Linnaean format, consisting of an italicized Latinized binomen with a capitalized genus name and a lower case species epithet (e.g., Homo sapiens). Virus species names, however, do not follow a uniform format, and, even when binomial, are not Linnaean in style. In this thought exercise, we attempted to convert all currently official names of species included in the virus family Arenaviridae and the virus order Mononegavirales to Linnaean binomials, and to identify and address associated challenges and concerns. Surprisingly, this endeavor was not as complicated or time-consuming as even the authors of this article expected when conceiving the experiment. [Arenaviridae; binomials; ICTV; International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses; Mononegavirales; virus nomenclature; virus taxonomy.].
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Thomas S Postler
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University, College of Physicians & Surgeons, New York, 10032 NY, USA
| | - Anna N Clawson
- Integrated Research Facility at Fort Detrick, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, 21702 MD, USA
| | - Gaya K Amarasinghe
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, 63110 MO, USA
| | - Christopher F Basler
- Center for Microbial Pathogenesis, Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Georgia State University, Atlanta, 30303 GA, USA
| | - Sbina Bavari
- United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Fort Detrick, Frederick, 21702 MD, USA
| | - Mária Benko
- Institute for Veterinary Medical Research, Centre for Agricultural Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, H-1581 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Kim R Blasdell
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Health and Biosecurity, Australian Animal Health Laboratory, Geelong, 3220 Victoria, Australia
| | - Thomas Briese
- Center for Infection and Immunity, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, 10032 NY, USA
| | - Michael J Buchmeier
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, 92697 CA, USA
| | | | - Charles H Calisher
- Arthropod-Borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, 80523 CO, USA
| | - Kartik Chandran
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, 10461 NY, USA
| | - Rémi Charrel
- MR "Emergence des Pathologies Virales" (EPV: Aix-Marseille Université - IRD 190 - Inserm 1207 - EHESP), 13284 Marseille, France
- Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire Méditerranée Infection, APHM Public Hospitals of Marseille, 13015 Marseille, France
| | | | - Peter L Collins
- Respiratory Viruses Section, Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 20892 MD, USA
| | - De La Torre Juan Carlos
- Department of Immunology and Microbial Science IMM-6, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, 92037 CA, USA
| | - Joseph L Derisi
- Departments of Medicine, Biochemistry and Biophysics, and Microbiology, University of California, San Francisco, 94158 CA, USA
| | - Ralf G Dietzgen
- Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, 4072 Queensland, Australia
| | - Olga Dolnik
- Institute of Virology, Philipps University Marburg, 35043 Marburg, Germany
| | | | - John M Dye
- United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Fort Detrick, Frederick, 21702 MD, USA
| | - Andrew J Easton
- School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, CV4 7AL Coventry, UK
| | - Sébastian Emonet
- Unité de Virologie, IRBA - Echelon Recherche de Lyon, 69007 Lyon, France
| | | | - Ron A M Fouchier
- Department of Viroscience, Postgraduate School Molecular Medicine, Erasmus University Medical Center, 3015 CE Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Elodie Ghedin
- Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, Department of Biology, New York University, New York, 10003 NY, USA
| | | | - Balázs Harrach
- Institute for Veterinary Medical Research, Centre for Agricultural Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, H-1581 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Roger Hewson
- Public Health England, Porton Down, Wiltshire, SP4 0JG Salisbury, UK
| | - Masayuki Horie
- Transboundary Animal Diseases Research Center, Joint Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kagoshima University, 890-0065 Japan Korimoto Kagoshima, Japan
| | - Dàohóng Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, The Provincial Key Lab of Plant Pathology of Húboi Province, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huázhong Agricultural University, Wuhàn, 430070 China, China
| | - Gary Kobinger
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Québec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada, Canada
| | - Hideki Kondo
- Institute of Plant Science and Resources, Okayama University, Kurashiki, 710-0046 Japan, Japan
| | - Andrew M Kropinski
- Departments of Food Science, Molecular and Cellular Biology, and Pathobiology, University of Guelph, Guelph, N1G 2W1 Ontario, Canada
| | - Mart Krupovic
- Unité de Biologie Moléculaire du Gène chez les Extrêmophiles, Department of Microbiology, Institut Pasteur, 75015 Paris, France
| | - Gael Kurath
- US Geological Survey Western Fisheries Research Center, Seattle, 98115 WA, USA
| | - Robert A Lamb
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, 60208 IL, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, 60208 IL, USA
| | - Eric M Leroy
- Centre International de Recherches Médicales de Franceville, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Franceville, Gabon
| | - Igor S Lukashevich
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Medicine, and the Center for Predictive Medicine for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases, University of Louisville, Louisville, 40202 KY, USA
| | - Andrea Maisner
- Institute of Virology, Philipps University Marburg, 35043 Marburg, Germany
| | - Arcady R Mushegian
- Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, National Science Foundation, Arlington, 22230, USA
| | - Sergey V Netesov
- Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk, Novosibirsk Oblast, 630090 Russia, Russia
| | - Norbert Nowotny
- Institute of Virology, University of Veterinary Medicine, 1210 Vienna, Austria
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
| | - Jean L Patterson
- Department of Virology and Immunology, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, 78230 TX, USA
| | - Susan L Payne
- Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, 77845 TX, USA
| | - Janusz T PaWeska
- Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases, National Institute for Communicable Diseases of the National Health Laboratory Service, 2131 Sandringham, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
| | | | - Sheli R Radoshitzky
- United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Fort Detrick, Frederick, 21702 MD, USA
| | - Bertus K Rima
- Centre for Experimental Medicine, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland, UK
| | - Victor Romanowski
- Instituto de Biotecnología y Biología Molecular (CONICET-UNLP), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, 1900 La Plata, Argentina
| | - Dennis Rubbenstroth
- Institute for Virology, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Sead Sabanadzovic
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology, Mississippi State University, 39762 MS, USA
| | - Hélène Sanfaçon
- Summerland Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Summerland, V0H 1Z0 British Columbia, Canada
| | - Maria S Salvato
- Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, 21201 MD, USA
| | - Martin Schwemmle
- Institute for Virology, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Sophie J Smither
- Chemical, Biological, and Radiological Division, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, Porton Down, Salisbury, SP4 0JQ Wiltshire, UK
| | - Mark D Stenglein
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, 80523 CO, USA
| | - David M Stone
- Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science Weymouth, DT4 8UB Dorset, UK
| | - Ayato Takada
- Division of Global Epidemiology, Hokkaido University Research Center for Zoonosis Control, 001-0020 Sapporo, Japan
| | - Robert B Tesh
- University of Texas Medical Branch, TX 77555 Galveston, USA
| | - Keizo Tomonaga
- Institute for Virus Research, Kyoto University, 6068507 Kyoto, Japan
| | - Noël Tordo
- Institut Pasteur, Unité des Stratégies Antivirales, 75015 Paris, France
- Institut Pasteur de Guinée, Conakry, Guinea
| | - Jonathan S Towner
- Viral Special Pathogens Branch, Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, 30333 GA, USA
| | | | - Viktor E Volchkov
- Molecular Basis of Viral Pathogenicity, CIRI, INSERM U1111 - CNRS UMR5308, Université de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 69365 Lyon, France
| | - Victoria Wahl-Jensen
- National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center, Fort Detrick, Frederick, 21702 MD, USA
| | - Peter J Walker
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Health and Biosecurity, Australian Animal Health Laboratory, Geelong, 3220 Victoria, Australia
| | - Lin-Fa Wang
- Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Biosecurity Queensland, Brisbane, 4000 Queensland, Australia
- Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-NUS Medical School, 1659857 Singapore, Singapore
| | - Arvind Varsani
- The Center for Fundamental and Applied Microbiomics, The Biodesign Institute and School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, 85287 AZ, USA
| | - Anna E Whitfield
- Plant Pathology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, 66506 KS, USA
| | - F Murilo Zerbini
- Department de Fitopatologia/BIOAGRO, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa - MG, 36570-900, Brazil, Brazil
| | - Jens H Kuhn
- Integrated Research Facility at Fort Detrick, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, 21702 MD, USA
| |
Collapse
|
44
|
Koonin EV, Zhang F. Coupling immunity and programmed cell suicide in prokaryotes: Life-or-death choices. Bioessays 2016; 39:1-9. [DOI: 10.1002/bies.201600186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Eugene V. Koonin
- National Center for Biotechnology Information; National Library of Medicine; Bethesda MD USA
| | - Feng Zhang
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard; Cambridge MA USA
- Department of Health Sciences and Technology; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Cambridge MA USA
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT; Cambridge MA USA
- Departments of Brain and Cognitive Science and Biological Engineering; Cambridge MA USA
| |
Collapse
|
45
|
Kostyrka G. What roles for viruses in origin of life scenarios? STUDIES IN HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF BIOLOGICAL AND BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES 2016; 59:135-144. [PMID: 26996411 DOI: 10.1016/j.shpsc.2016.02.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2016] [Accepted: 02/27/2016] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Important roles in origin of life (OL) scenarios have been and still are attributed to viruses. Yet the strict dependence of viruses on cells for their multiplication has been widely acknowledged since the first decades of the 20th century. How could viruses play critical roles in the OL if life relies on cellular organization and if viruses are defined as parasites of cells? In other words, how could viruses play a role in the emergence of cellular life if the existence of cells is a prerequisite for the existence of viruses? This paper investigates this issue and describes past and current OL scenarios conferring viruses with important roles, thereby completing the work of historian of science and physician Scott Podolsky who identified three major roles of viruses in past OL scenarios. Some objections raised by present OL scenarios conferring viruses with an important role are discussed. I argue that disagreements concerning the roles of viruses in OL scenarios stem from the different concepts of life and of virus scientists defend. Investigating the roles of viruses in OL scenarios not only helps identifying different ways to define life in the context of OL theorizing. It also offers the opportunity to better understand how viruses could be conceptualized. The relevance of the replication-first versus metabolism-first dichotomy in OL theorizing is briefly discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gladys Kostyrka
- Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University, IHPST, 13 Rue du Four, 75006 Paris, France.
| |
Collapse
|
46
|
Méthot PO. Writing the history of virology in the twentieth century: Discovery, disciplines, and conceptual change. STUDIES IN HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF BIOLOGICAL AND BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES 2016; 59:145-153. [PMID: 27033340 DOI: 10.1016/j.shpsc.2016.02.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2016] [Accepted: 02/27/2016] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Concerned with the study of viruses and the diseases they cause, virology is now a well-established scientific discipline. Whereas aspects of its history from the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century have often been recounted through a number of detailed case studies, few general discussions of the historiography of virology have been offered. Looking at the ways in which the history of virology has been told, this article examines a number of debates among scientists and historians of biology and show how they are based on a different understanding of notions such as "discipline", of processes such as "scientific discovery" as well as on distinct views about what the history of science is and how it should be written (the opposition between "longue durée" and "micro-history" or between history of "concepts" versus "experimental methods"). The analysis provided here also suggests that a richer historiography of virology will require looking at the variations over time of the relations between conceptual, technological, and institutional factors that fostered its development at the intersection of several other scientific fields in the life sciences.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pierre-Olivier Méthot
- Faculté de philosophie, Université Laval, 2325 rue des Bibliothèques, Québec, Québec G1R 1V7, Canada; Centre interuniversitaire de recherche sur la science et la technologie, Université du Québec à Montréal, C.P. 8888, succ., Centre-ville, Montréal, Québec H3C 3P8, Canada.
| |
Collapse
|
47
|
Claverie JM, Abergel C. Giant viruses: The difficult breaking of multiple epistemological barriers. STUDIES IN HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF BIOLOGICAL AND BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES 2016; 59:89-99. [PMID: 26972873 DOI: 10.1016/j.shpsc.2016.02.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2016] [Accepted: 02/27/2016] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
The discovery of the first "giant virus", Mimivirus, in 2003 could solely have been that of an exceptional freak, a blind alley of evolution as occasionally encountered in biology, albeit without conceptual significance. On the contrary, once broken this epistemological barrier, additional unrelated families of giant viruses such as the Pandoraviruses, the Pithoviruses and most recently Mollivirus, were quickly unraveled, suggesting that an entire chapter of microbiology had been ignored since Pasteur and Ivanovski. In this article, we examine to what extent the giant viruses challenge previous definitions of viruses, the diversity of forms they could take, and how they might have evolved from extinct ancestral cellular lineages. Inspired by the epistemology of Gaston Bachelard, we will also suggest the reasons for which giant viruses laid hidden in plain sight for more than a century. Finally, we propose a new definition for "viruses" that paradoxically emphasize the fact that they do not encode a single universally shared macromolecule or biochemical function.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Michel Claverie
- Structural and Genomic Information Laboratory, UMR 7256 (IMM FR 3479) CNRS Aix-Marseille Université, Luminy Campus, Marseille, France; Assistance Publique des Hôpitaux de Marseille, La Timone, 13005, Marseille, France.
| | - Chantal Abergel
- Structural and Genomic Information Laboratory, UMR 7256 (IMM FR 3479) CNRS Aix-Marseille Université, Luminy Campus, Marseille, France
| |
Collapse
|
48
|
Forterre P. To be or not to be alive: How recent discoveries challenge the traditional definitions of viruses and life. STUDIES IN HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF BIOLOGICAL AND BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES 2016; 59:100-108. [PMID: 26996409 DOI: 10.1016/j.shpsc.2016.02.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2016] [Accepted: 02/27/2016] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Three major discoveries have recently profoundly modified our perception of the viral world: molecular ecologists have shown that viral particles are more abundant than cells in natural environments; structural biologists have shown that some viruses from the three domains of life, Bacteria, Eukarya and Archaea, are evolutionarily related, and microbiologists have discovered giant viruses that rival with cells in terms of size and gene content. I discuss here the scientific and philosophical impact of these discoveries on the debates over the definition, nature (living or not), and origin of viruses. I suggest that viruses have often been considered non-living, because they are traditionally assimilated to their virions. However, the term virus describes a biological process and should integrate all aspects of the viral reproduction cycle. It is especially important to focus on the intracellular part of this cycle, the virocell, when viral information is actively expressed and reproduced, allowing the emergence of new viral genes. The virocell concept theoretically removes roadblocks that prevent defining viruses as living organisms. However, defining a "living organism" remains challenging, as indicated by the case of organelles that evolved from intracellular bacteria. To bypass this problem, I suggest considering that all biological entities that actively participate in the process of life are living.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Forterre
- Institut Pasteur, Unité de Biologie Moléculaire du Gène chez les Extrêmophiles, Département de Microbiologie, F-75015, Paris, France.
| |
Collapse
|
49
|
Pradeu T, Kostyrka G, Dupré J. Understanding viruses: Philosophical investigations. STUDIES IN HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF BIOLOGICAL AND BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES 2016; 59:57-63. [PMID: 26975220 DOI: 10.1016/j.shpsc.2016.02.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2016] [Accepted: 02/27/2016] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Viruses have been virtually absent from philosophy of biology. In this editorial introduction, we explain why we think viruses are philosophically important. We focus on six issues (the definition of viruses, the individuality and diachronic identity of a virus, the possibility to classify viruses into species, the question of whether viruses are living, the question of whether viruses are organisms, and finally the biological roles of viruses in ecology and evolution), and we show how they relate to classic questions of philosophy of biology and even general philosophy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Gladys Kostyrka
- IHPST, UMR8590, CNRS & Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne University, France
| | | |
Collapse
|
50
|
Abstract
Almost all cellular life forms are hosts to diverse genetic parasites with various levels of autonomy including plasmids, transposons and viruses. Theoretical modeling of the evolution of primordial replicators indicates that parasites (cheaters) necessarily evolve in such systems and can be kept at bay primarily via compartmentalization. Given the (near) ubiquity, abundance and diversity of genetic parasites, the question becomes pertinent: are such parasites intrinsic to life? At least in prokaryotes, the persistence of parasites is linked to the rate of horizontal gene transfer (HGT). We mathematically derive the threshold value of the minimal transfer rate required for selfish element persistence, depending on the element duplication and loss rates as well as the cost to the host. Estimation of the characteristic gene duplication, loss and transfer rates for transposons, plasmids and virus-related elements in multiple groups of diverse bacteria and archaea indicates that most of these rates are compatible with the long term persistence of parasites. Notably, a small but non-zero rate of HGT is also required for the persistence of non-parasitic genes. We hypothesize that cells cannot tune their horizontal transfer rates to be below the threshold required for parasite persistence without experiencing highly detrimental side-effects. As a lower boundary to the minimum DNA transfer rate that a cell can withstand, we consider the process of genome degradation and mutational meltdown of populations through Muller's ratchet. A numerical assessment of this hypothesis suggests that microbial populations cannot purge parasites while escaping Muller's ratchet. Thus, genetic parasites appear to be virtually inevitable in cellular organisms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jaime Iranzo
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda
| | - Pere Puigbò
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda Present address: Department of Biology, University of Turku, Finland
| | - Alexander E Lobkovsky
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda
| | - Yuri I Wolf
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda
| | - Eugene V Koonin
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda
| |
Collapse
|