Chantal Abergel

The paper identifies that giant DNA viruses encode a functional IF4F translation initiation complex, enabling viral protein synthesis and challenging the distinction between cellular and acellular biology.

The paper investigates the interaction network of mimivirus, revealing distinct protein modules and conserved assembly nodes in its icosahedral capsid.

The paper identifies a unique H2B-H2A histone variant in Melbournevirus that forms structurally distinct nucleosomes with reduced DNA binding capacity.

The paper shows that Nucleocytoviricota viral factories are transient organelles formed by liquid-liquid phase separation, using scaffold proteins and client proteins.

The paper reports the isolation and genome sequencing of Pithoviridae, revealing genome organization, evolution, and the role of repeats in divergence from cedratviruses.

The paper shows that large DNA viruses encode fused histone doublets that are targeted to viral factories and assemble into open nucleosome-like structures.

The paper investigates DNA methylation in giant viruses, finding widespread methylation, bacterial-origin MTases, and potential roles in virus-virus interactions.