Comparative Analysis of the Circular and Highly Asymmetrical Genomes.

members are large dsDNA viruses with icosahedral particles 250 nm in diameter infecting . Their 340 to 390 kb genomes encode 450 to 550 protein-coding genes. Since the discovery of marseillevirus (the prototype of the family) in 2009, several strains were isolated from various locations, among which 13 are now fully sequenced.