''Psimunavirus'' (synonyms ''psiM-like viruses'', ''psiM1-like viruses'', ''Psimunalikevirus'') is a genus of

virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Since Dmitri Ivanovsk ...

es in the family ''

Siphoviridae ''Siphoviridae'' is a family of double-stranded DNA viruses in the order ''Caudovirales''. Bacteria and archaea serve as natural hosts. There are 1,166 species in this family, assigned to 366 genera and 22 subfamilies. The characteristic structu ...

''. Bacteria and archaea serve as the natural host, with transmission achieved through passive diffusion. There is only one species in this genus: ''Psimunavirus psiM2''.

Structure

Psimunaviruses are

nonenveloped A viral envelope is the outermost layer of many types of viruses. It protects the genetic material in their life cycle when traveling between host cells. Not all viruses have envelopes. Numerous human pathogenic viruses in circulation are encase ...

, with a head and tail. The head is about 55 nm in diameter. The tail is long and flexible, at about 210 nm long, 10 nm wide, and has a terminal knob.

Genome

''Psimunavirus'' is currently unlisted by NCBI.

Life cycle

Viral replication is cytoplasmic. The virus attaches to the host cell's adhesion receptors using its terminal fibers, and ejects the viral DNA into the host cytoplasm vi
long flexible tail ejection system
Replication follows the replicative transposition model. DNA-templated transcription is the method of transcription. Once the viral genes have been replicated, the procapsid is assembled and packed. The tail is then assembled and the mature virions are released via lysis. Bacteria and archaea serve as the natural host. Transmission routes are passive diffusion.

History

According to ICTV'
1997
report, the genus ''Psimunalikevirus'' was first accepted under the name ''psiM-like viruses'', assigned only to family ''

''. The whole family was moved to the newly created order ''

Caudovirales ''Caudovirales'' is an order of viruses known as the tailed bacteriophages (''cauda'' is Latin for "tail"). Under the Baltimore classification scheme, the ''Caudovirales'' are group I viruses as they have double stranded DNA (dsDNA) genomes ...

'' in 1998, and the genus was renamed to ''psiM1-like viruses'' in ICTV'
seventh report
in 1999. I
2012
the genus was renamed again, this time to ''Psimunalikevirus''. The genus was later renamed to ''Psimunavirus''.

References

External links

ICTV
{{Use dmy dates, date=April 2017 Siphoviridae Virus genera