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''Mimivirus'' is a genus of viruses, in the family Mimiviridae. Amoeba serve as natural hosts.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://viralzone.expasy.org/all_by_species/580.html )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Virus Taxonomy: 2014 Release )〕 This genus contains a single identified species named ''Acanthamoeba polyphaga mimivirus'' (APMV), which serves as its type species. It also refers to a group of phylogenetically related large viruses, designated usually "MimiN." In colloquial speech, APMV is more commonly referred to as just "mimivirus." Mimivirus, short for "mimicking microbe," is so called to reflect its large size and apparent Gram-staining properties. Mimivirus has a large and complex genome compared with most other viruses. Until October 2011, when a larger virus ''Megavirus chilensis'' was described, it had the largest capsid diameter of all known viruses. ==Discovery== APMV was discovered accidentally in 1992 within the amoeba ''Acanthamoeba polyphaga'', after which it is named, during research into Legionellosis. The virus was observed in a gram stain and mistakenly thought to be a gram-positive bacterium. As a consequence it was named Bradfordcoccus, after the district the amoeba was sourced from in Bradford, England. In 2003, researchers at the Université de la Méditerranée in Marseille, France published a paper in ''Science'' identifying the micro-organism as a virus. The same team that discovered the mimivirus later discovered a slightly larger virus, dubbed the mamavirus, and the Sputnik virophage that infects it.〔Nature: ("'Virophage' suggests viruses are alive" ) by Helen Pearson 2008 〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mimivirus」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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