1. Wprowadzenie. 2. Wirofag Sputnik. 3. Wirofag Sputnik 2. 4. Wirofag Mawirus. 5. Wirofag OLV. 6. Inne wirofagi. 7. Wirofagi a wirusy satelitarne. 8. Podsumowanie

Abstract: Virophages are viruses whichinfect mainly giant viruses, from so-called super-family NCLD (nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses), which includes Mimivirus, Mamavirus, Lentille, CroV or Phycodna virus. They occurre in the aquatic environment as infectious agents, especially for protozoa, flagellates, algae and micro-algae (mainly Spirulina sp. and Chlorella sp.). The first known virophage was Sputnik, for which the dominant host is Mamawirus living on the protozoa Acanthamoeba (A.) polyphaga. However, it can infect also Mimivirus living on protozoa A. castellanii. Sputnik was also considered as satellite virus, as its replication cycle requires the presence of Mamavirus or Mimivirus and also its genetic material is DNA,. Thus, it is the first described dsDNA satellite virus. This virophage has its own gene encoding the capsid and its replication takes place in the Mamavirus and/or Mimivirus “factories”, creating a link between viruses and the animated world. The second discovered virophage after Sputnik was Sputnik 2, which was found in amoeba contaminated fluid (Acantamoeba polyphaga) infected with the giant virus – Lentille. Sputnik 2, similarly to Sputnik, has the ability to introduce its DNA into the host genome, as evidenced by the discovery of its small fragments in the Lentille virus genome. The third discovered virophage was Mavirus, for which the host is a CroV virus (Cafeteria roenbergensis virus) infecting algae Cafeteria (C.) roenbergensis. Mavirus differs from Sputnik and Sputnik 2 as its cubic capsid has a diameter of 60 nm and its genome was found to be closely related to the class of eukaryotic DNA transposons Thus, it has been proposed that Mavirus might have given a start to DNA transposons in Maverick/Polinton class. The fourth described virophage is the Organic Lake Virophage (OLV). It has been identified by similarity in its capsid protein sequence to the already discovered protein sequences in Sputnik. In addition to the four virophages described in this work, there are also other registered virophages, such as Yellowstone Lake Virophage (YSLCV) 1, 2, 3, 4 and Ace Lake Mavirus – ALM.

1. Introduction. 2. Sputnik virophage. 3. Sputnik 2 virophage. 4. Mavirus virophage. 5. OLV virophage. 6. Other virophages. 7. Virophages and satellite viruses. 8. Summary