About 1 billion years ago, giant viruses evolved by “hoarding” cellular genes, expanding their genomes until they blurred the line between a simple virus and a living cell.
Giant viruses (within Varidnaviria) Read More »
About 1.25 billion years ago, Retroviruses emerged by transforming “jumping genes” into infectious agents, mastering the ability to rewrite a host’s permanent genetic code.
Retroviruses (within Riboviria) Read More »
About 1.75 billion years ago, Monodnaviria evolved as “runaway” genetic loops (plasmids) that stole structural proteins from other viruses to become independent, single-stranded DNA parasites.
About 2.75 billion years ago, the Varidnaviria evolved a unique “Double Jelly-Roll” protein fold to build massive, diverse shells, allowing viruses to scale up from tiny parasites to “giant” viruses that mimic cells.
Virus: Varidnaviria Read More »
Around the time of the first bacteria, about 3.2 billion years ago and after LUCA, the Duplodnaviria evolved a high-pressure, icosahedral protein armor that turned viruses into biological syringes capable of injecting DNA into any domain of life.
Bacteriophage → Duplodnaviria Read More »
About 3.7 billion years ago, RNA virus ancestors may trace back to the RNA world, but we can’t prove whether they predate LUCA or arose just after.
Virus: Riboviria (Early RNA replicators) Read More »
