Viruses found in Yellowstone:
(All Transmission Electron Micrographs (TEM's) shown on this page were taken by either the author or Sue Brumfield at Montana State University. Cryo-EM reconstruction done by Liang Tang at the Scripps Research Institute).
Thermal viruses previously identified in other parts of the world:
TEM's from left to right of spindle-shaped Fuselloviridae, stiff rod-shaped Rudiviridae, flexible filamentous Lipothrixviridae. Although these viruses were characterized in other countries, the above samples were isolated from Yellowstone. (measurement bars=100nm)
Virus-like Particle morphologies that had not been previously been documented:
Tailed and elongated particles isolated from Yellowstone. (measurement bars=100nm)
30nm spherical particles isolated from Yellowstone. (measurement bars=100nm)
Sulfolobus Turreted Icosahedral Virus (STIV) is a 70 nm icosahedral virus isolated from Yellowstone (Rice et al. PNAS 2004, vol. 101, no. 20, 7716-20). STIV is the first icosahedral thermal virus to be isolated, as well as the first thermal virus known to posses an inner lipid bilayer. STIV also has prominent turret-like appendages at it's 5-fold points of symmetry as shown in the cryo-reconstruction on the right. (measurement bars=100nm) Cryo-reconstruction by Liang Tang.
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