Poxviruses and the origin of the eukaryotic nucleus

J Mol Evol. 2001 May;52(5):419-25. doi: 10.1007/s002390010171.

Abstract

A number of molecular forms of DNA polymerases have been reported to be involved in eukaryotic nuclear DNA replication, with contributions from alpha-, delta-, and epsilon-polymerases. It has been reported that delta-polymerase possessed a central role in DNA replication in archaea, whose ancestry are thought to be closely related to the ancestor of eukaryotes. Indeed, in vitro experiment shown here suggests that delta-polymerase has the potential ability to start DNA synthesis immediately after RNA primer synthesis. Therefore, the question arises, where did the alpha-polymerase come from? Phylogenetic analysis based on the nucleotide sequence of several conserved regions reveals that two poxviruses, vaccinia and variola viruses, have polymerases similar to eukaryotic alpha-polymerase rather than delta-polymerase, while adenovirus, herpes family viruses, and archaeotes have eukaryotic delta-like polymerases, suggesting that the eukaryotic alpha-polymerase gene is derived from a poxvirus-like organism, which had some eukaryote-like characteristics. Furthermore, the poxvirus's proliferation independent from the host-cell nucleus suggests the possibility that this virus could infect non-nucleated cells, such as ancestral eukaryotes. I wish to propose here a new hypothesis for the origin of the eukaryotic nucleus, posing symbiotic contact of an orthopoxvirus ancestor with an archaebacterium, whose genome already had a delta-like polymerase gene.

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Biological Evolution*
  • Cell Nucleus / enzymology
  • Cell Nucleus / microbiology
  • Cell Nucleus / physiology*
  • Cell Nucleus / virology
  • DNA / biosynthesis
  • DNA / genetics
  • DNA Replication
  • DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase / chemistry
  • DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase / genetics
  • DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase / metabolism*
  • Endocytosis
  • Eukaryotic Cells / cytology*
  • Eukaryotic Cells / enzymology
  • Eukaryotic Cells / virology
  • Evolution, Molecular
  • Humans
  • Models, Biological*
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Phylogeny
  • Poxviridae / enzymology
  • Poxviridae / physiology*
  • Prokaryotic Cells / cytology
  • Prokaryotic Cells / physiology
  • Prokaryotic Cells / virology
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary
  • RNA / biosynthesis
  • RNA / genetics
  • Symbiosis

Substances

  • RNA
  • DNA
  • DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase