| Summary: | The microorganisms from the Archaea domain are very diverse at the biological level and they are present in many types of ecosystems. They are dominant in the so-called extreme environments. Among their viruses, those infecting species of the Crenarchaeota phylum, a major archaeal phylum comprising hyperthermophiles, form an exceptional group. Indeed, their morphotypes are unique, diverse, and complex. Their genome content is also unique. Finally, most of these viruses persist in the host cell in a carrier state, a chronic relationship allowing an equilibrium between virion production and cell division. I first proved that Sulfolobus islandicus rod-shaped virus 2 is a virulent virus, and not chronic, as had previously been suggested. A unique lysis mechanism was discovered. The cell wall is modified in several locations, with the appearance of pyramidal prominent structures. Those burst open at the end of the infection cycle, allowing the virions, previously assembled in the cytoplasm, to leave the cell. Then, I worked on environmental samples from geothermal springs of the Kamchatka peninsula (Russia) and contributed to the isolation and characterization of a virus of filamentous morphotype. Additional structural proteins were in particular identified. Finally, short exceptional words were identified in a great number of genomes from archaea and their extra-chromosomal elements. These are potentially functional non-coding motifs involved in important biological mechanisms. Typically, palindromic motifs are avoided in the genomes Les microorganismes du domaine du vivant Archaea sont très divers sur le plan biologique et sont présents dans de nombreux types d'écosystèmes. Ils sont majoritaires dans les environnements dits extrêmes. Parmi les virus d'archées, ceux infectant les espèces d'un phylum majeur des archées, Crenarchaeota, constitué d'hyperthermophiles, forment un groupe exceptionnel. En effet, leurs morphotypes sont uniques, variés, et complexes. Le contenu de leur génome est également unique. Enfin, ...
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