There are genes, for example, that encode for the instructions and apparatus for making proteins. This violates biological dogma straightaway; viruses are supposed to let their hosts make the proteins. Some of the protein-making apparatus in Mimivirus is exactly the same as you'd find in all the things we call"alive." There are also genes for repairing and untangling DNA, for metabolizing sugars, and for protein folding—an essential step in the construction of life.
