The
virions in this family have a capsid with icosahedral geometry and a
viral envelope that protects the
genetic material. The diameter is 83 to 87 nanometers. The
genome is circular
dsDNA with a length of 20,222 base pairs. The
genome contains 45
open reading frames (ORFs), which are closely arranged and occupy 89.1% of the genome. ORFs are generally short, with an average length of 103
codons. Virions have 10
proteins ranging from 20 to 32 kDa. Of these proteins, 8 code for the capsid and two for the viral envelope, including one that is a vertical
single jelly roll (SJR) capsid protein. Entry into the host cell is by penetration.
Viral replication occurs by chronic infection without a
lytic cycle. The
Portogloboviridae viruses together with
Halopanivirales have evolutionary importance in the evolution of the other
Varidnaviria viruses since they appear to be relics of how the first viruses of this realm were.
Portogloboviridae together with
Halopanivirales may have infected the
last universal common ancestor (LUCA) and originated before that organism. It has been proposed that it may be related to the origin of
Varidnaviria in the following way. }} ==Taxonomy==