mirusvirus

English

Etymology

From Latin mīrus (“wonderful, surprising, strange”) + virus.

Noun

mirusvirus (plural mirusviruses)

1. (virology) A virus of the phylum Mirusviricota, a widespread group of plankton-infecting viruses which forms a "missing link" between giant viruses and herpesviruses.
   • 2023 April 19, Morgan Gaïa, Lingjie Meng, Eric Pelletier, Patrick Forterre, Chiara Vanni, Antonio Fernandez-Guerra, Olivier Jaillon, Patrick Wincker, Hiroyuki Ogata, Mart Krupovic, Tom O. Delmont, “Mirusviruses link herpesviruses to giant viruses”, in Nature, volume 616, London: Nature Portfolio, →DOI, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 783:

     Yet, a substantial fraction of mirusvirus genes, including hallmark transcription machinery genes missing in herpesviruses, are closely related homologues of giant eukaryotic DNA viruses from another viral realm, Varidnaviria.