Megaklothovirus horridgei
| Megaklothovirus horridgei | |
|---|---|
| Megaklothovirus horridgei compared to HIV and E. coli | |
| Virus classification | |
| Group: | |
| Family: | Klothoviridae
|
| Genus: | Megaklothovirus
|
| Species: | Megaklothovirus horridgei
|
Megaklothovirus horridgei is the largest virus ever discovered. It is 3.9 μm long, which is about twice the length of an Escherichia coli bacterium.[1] It was first discovered in 2018 on an Arrow Worm that it was infecting in the genus Spadella.[2] Before Megaklothovirus horridgei was understood to be a giant virus, it had been mistaken for bristles in 1967, and later for bacteria in 2003.[3][4]
Name
Megaklothovirus horridgei is named in tribute to Adrian Horridge,[5] the author of the 1967 article in which the viruses were mistaken for bristles.
See also
References
- ^ Thuesen, Erik V.; Kogure, Kazuhiro; Hashimoto, Kanehisa; Nemoto, Takahisa (May 1988). "Poison arrowworms: a tetrodotoxin venom in the marine phylum Chaetognatha". Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 116 (3): 249–256. doi:10.1016/0022-0981(88)90030-5. ISSN 0022-0981.
- ^ "Prey detection by Chaetognatha via a vibration sense". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological Sciences. 168 (1013): 413–419. 1967-11-14. doi:10.1098/rspb.1967.0072. ISSN 0080-4649.
- ^ "Giant gene thieves". www.asbmb.org. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
- ^ https://amu.hal.science/hal-02010229/document
- ^ "Adrian Horridge". adrian-horridge.org. Retrieved 2025-10-31.