Like the other very large viruses Mimivirus and Megavirus, Pandoravirus infects amoebas, but its genome, containing 1.9 to 2.5 megabases of DNA, is twice as large as that of Megavirus, and it differs greatly from the other large viruses in appearance and in genome structure.
Som andre meget store vira, Mimivirus og Megavirus, inficerer pandoravirus amøber, men dens genom, som indeholder 1,9 - 2,5 megabaser af DNA, er i størrelsesordenen dobbelt så stor som megavirus, og det adskiller sig væsentligt fra de andre store vira i udseende og i genom struktur.