“Integration and reactivation of endogenous DNA viruses in unicellular eukaryotes”

Viruses infecting protists play important ecological and evolutionary roles by modulating microbial population dynamics and contributing to genome evolution through endogenization. Protist genomes contain tens to thousands of endogenous viral elements (EVEs), many of which appear intact and may represent functional viruses. Some EVEs are related to virophages—viruses that parasitize on larger “giant viruses” infecting eukaryotic hosts. Using an isolated virophage system, we aim to uncover the molecular mechanisms underlying viral DNA integration and reactivation.