巨型病毒劫持宿主蛋白质工厂

their hosts’ protein factories Researchers identify a complex that hands a mimivirus control of protein synthesis in infected amoebae CATHERINE OFFORD Since their discovery in the early 21st century, giant viruses have drawn fascination for their extreme weirdness. Easily visible under a light microscope— some are larger than small bacteria— they have overturned the traditional view of viruses as tiny and simple, triggering debates about everything from the definition of life to the evolu- tion of complex organisms. Researchers are still figuring out what exactly all these extra genes do. Giant viruses primarily infect amoe- bae and other single-celled eukaryotes—organisms that, like humans, package their DNA into a nucleus. …