Paramecium Bursaria Chlorella Virus-1 (PBCV-1) is the prototype member of the Phycodnaviridae family and shares an ancient ancestor with the Mimivirus. By combining various advanced high resolution fluorescence and electron microscopy techniques we investigate the infectious cycle of the virus. Specifically, we focus on the infections stages where "viral organelles" termed viral factories are generated in the cytoplasm of the host, the Chlorella cell. We have found that the PBCV-1 factories are profoundly different from factories produced by other evolutionary related viruses Vaccinia and Mimivirus, and reveal distinct bacteriophage architecture. Our results further support the notion that the eukaryote-infecting PBCV-1 infection proceeds through a bacteriophage-like infection.
