The Mimivirus is the largest known virus known to mankind. It has a size of up to 600 nm. Another amazing thing about this virus is that it harbors a level of complexity which brings it closer in relation to our modern cells, with 911 genes (Prescott, 1993) encoding proteins like the amino - acyl tRNA synthetases, DNA polymerases and other metabolic enzymes. The size of its genome is 1.2 megabase (La Scola et al, 2003). Perhaps the size of the Mimivirus virion is large enough to deliver a human minichromosome into the cell. However, the capsid needs to be engineered in such a way that it can bind to receptors of specific cells. Another challenge would be to package the minichromosome into the viral capsid. If the artificial chromosome is going to be the next thing in gene therapy, the search for a nanoparticle that can act as its carrier continues.
Citations
1) Prescott, L. (1993). Microbiology, Wm. C. Brown Publishers
2) La Scola B, Audic S, Robert C, Jungang L, de Lamballerie X, Drancourt M, Birtles R, Claverie JM, Raoult D. A giant virus in amoebae. Science. 2003 Mar 28;299
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