Viruses of parasitic protozoa

Abstract

Recently, specific viruses have been identified among the parasitic protozoa Trichomonas vaginalis, Giardia lamblia, Leishmania braziliensis, the Eimeria spp and the Babesia spp. These viruses share many features: they are all RNA viruses and most, if not all, doublestranded (ds) RNA viruses with nonsegmented genomes ranging between 5 and 7 kilobases (kb); they are spherical or icosahedral with an average diameter of 30-40 nm. The giardiavirus is one of the best characterized and can infect virus free G. lamblia trophozoites in its freed, pure form. The replicative intermediate of the giardiavirus genome has been isolated from infected cells, and can be introduced into G. lamblia by electroporation to produce giardiavirus, thus raising the possibility of its being used as a specific genetic transfection vector for the parasite.