• Question: What is the most interesting virus in your opinion and why?

    Asked by to Bethany, Hannah, Keith, Peter, Ramya on 19 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by , , .
    • Photo: Bethany Dearlove

      Bethany Dearlove answered on 19 Jun 2014:


      I would choose Mimivirus as one of the most interesting viruses, even though it’s not one I’ve ever worked with. Its name comes from ‘mimicking microbe’, as it was mistaken for a coccus (spherical) bacteria, even with gram-staining (one way of identifying bacteria). It infects amoeba (single-celled organisms), and is the third largest virus behind the more recently discovered Megavirus chilensis and Pandoravirus. The genome is 1,181,404 bases long – that’s over 150 times longer than my favourite virus to work on, norovirus! Because of its likeness to a bacteria, Mimivirus has blurred the distinction between viruses and bacteria, adding heat to the debate whether viruses should be part of the tree of life or not.

    • Photo: Ramya Bhatia

      Ramya Bhatia answered on 22 Jun 2014:


      For me, it will always be HPV. It is a very intersting virus because it has a wonderful way of hiding itself from our body’s immune cells that kill all viruses and bacteria.
      You probably know our skin has several layers. The lowest layer- closest to our organs is called the basal membrane. HPV only makes 8 proteins so it is a tiny virus. It can only infect the basal membrane and in the basal membrane is only makes 2 proteins, in the middle layers it makes 5 proteins and in the uppermost layers it makes the other 3 proteins. In this way, it doesnt express all 8 protein in any cell and because of that it is able to hide very effectively

    • Photo: Peter Elliott

      Peter Elliott answered on 23 Jun 2014:


      Due to the previous answers to your question, I am going to play with your question and say humans are the most interesting virus. I have a lot of interaction with them on a daily basis and they are very interesting. We as humans have become the most dominant animal on the planet and are capable of some extraordinary feats unmatched by anything else this planet has see. But why do I say we are a virus?

      Firstly we have spread all over the earth from the deserts of Africa to the icy cold wilderness of the Arctic I am not sure there is any other species that inhabits a wide a range of territory as we have managed.

      Secondly we exploit, we take from the natural world around us without really putting anything back into it, except when it betters us.

      Finally we affect our alter out environment greater than any other animal by throwing out waves of pollution and altering the land to suit our needs rather than what the natural world has created.

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