Nucleocytoviricota viral factories are transient organelles made by liquid-liquid phase separation

Phase separation is a widespread mechanism in viral processes, mediating replication, host manipulation and virion morphogenesis. The phylum Nucleocytoviricota encompasses diverse and ubiquitous viruses, including Poxviridae, the climate-modulating Emiliania huxleyi virus and other so-called Giant Viruses. Cytoplasmic members of this phylum form viral factories but their nature has remained unresolved. Here, we demonstrate that these viral factories are formed by liquid-liquid phase separation. We prove that mimivirus viral factories are formed by multilayered phase separation, orchestrated by at least two scaffold proteins. To extend these findings across the phylum Nucleocytoviricota , we developed a bioinformatic pipeline to predict scaffold proteins based on a conserved molecular grammar, despite major primary sequence variability. Scaffold candidates were validated in Marseilleviridae and Poxviridae , highlighting a role of H5 as a scaffold protein in the vaccinia virus. Finally, we provide a repertoire of client proteins of the nucleus-like viral factory of mimivirus and demonstrate important sub-compartmentalization of functions, including those related to the central dogma. Overall, we reveal a new mechanism for an organelle to deploy nuclear-like functions entirely based on phase separation and re-classified phylum Nucleocytoviricota viral factories as biomolecular condensates.