Newly identified viruses may bridge an evolutionary gap with cellular compartments

University of Miami researchers report identifying previously unknown viruses with smaller, simpler genomes than other viruses with HK97-fold shells. Those shell-forming proteins also occur in encapsulins, cellular compartments. The team interprets the finding as evidence of repeated evolution between viruses and encapsulins rather than a one-way origin for encapsulins. The study's proposed mechanism involving immature viral shells remains a possibility.