1. Virus taxonomy and the role of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV)
- Author
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Siddell, Stuart G., Smith, Donald B., Adriaenssens, Evelien, Alfenas-Zerbini, Poliane, Dutilh, Bas E., Garcia, Maria Laura, Junglen, Sandra, Krupovic, Mart, Kuhn, Jens H., Lambert, Amy J., Lefkowitz, Elliot J., Łobocka, Małgorzata, Mushegian, Arcady R., Oksanen, Hanna M., Robertson, David L., Rubino, Luisa, Sabanadzovic, Sead, Simmonds, Peter, Suzuki, Nobuhiro, Van Doorslaer, Koenraad, Vandamme, Anne-Mieke, Varsani, Arvind, Zerbini, F. Murilo, University of Bristol [Bristol], University of Oxford, Quadram Institute, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), Universidade Federal de Viçosa = Federal University of Viçosa (UFV), Friedrich-Schiller-Universität = Friedrich Schiller University Jena [Jena, Germany], Utrecht University [Utrecht], Instituto de Biotecnología y Biología Molecular [La Plata] (IBBM), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas [Buenos Aires] (CONICET)-Facultad de Ciencias Exactas [La Plata], Universidad Nacional de la Plata [Argentine] (UNLP)-Universidad Nacional de la Plata [Argentine] (UNLP), Free University of Berlin (FU), Virologie des archées - Archaeal Virology, Université Paris Cité (UPCité)-Microbiologie Intégrative et Moléculaire (UMR6047), Institut Pasteur [Paris] (IP)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut Pasteur [Paris] (IP)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Integrated Research Facility at Fort Detrick (IRF-Frederick), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases [Bethesda] (NIAID-NIH), National Institutes of Health [Bethesda] (NIH)-National Institutes of Health [Bethesda] (NIH), National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), University of Alabama at Birmingham [ Birmingham] (UAB), Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics [Warsaw] (IBB), National Science Foundation [Arlington] (NSF), Helsingin yliopisto = Helsingfors universitet = University of Helsinki, MRC - University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, CNR Istituto per la Protezione Sostenibile delle Piante [Torino, Italia] (IPSP), National Research Council of Italy | Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Mississippi State University [Mississippi], Okayama University, University of Arizona, Catholic University of Leuven - Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven), Universidade Nova de Lisboa = NOVA University Lisbon (NOVA), Arizona State University [Tempe] (ASU), D.B.S. is supported by a grant from the Microbiology Society. B.E.D. is supported by the European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator grant 865694: DiversiPHI, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) under Germany ́s Excellence Strategy – EXC 2051 – Project-ID 390713860, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in the context of an Alexander von Humboldt-Professorship founded by German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Innovative Training Networks grant agreement no. 955 974 (VIROINF). E.J.L. – this publication was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute of Allergy And Infectious Diseases (NIAID), under Award Number U24AI162625. This work was also supported in part through the Laulima Government Solutions, LLC, prime contract with the NIH NIAID, under Contract No. HHSN272201800013C. J.H.K. performed this work as an employee of Tunnell Government Services (TGS), a subcontractor of Laulima Government Solutions, LLC, under Contract No. HHSN272201800013C. A.R.M. is a Program Director at the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), the statements and opinions expressed herein are made in a personal capacity and do not constitute endorsement by NSF or the government of the United States. H.M.O. was supported by the University of Helsinki and Academy of Finland funding for FINStruct, part of Biocenter Finland and Instruct-ERIC. D.L.R. is funded by the MRC (MC_UU_12014/12). S.S. acknowledges support from the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station (MAFES), USDA-ARS project 58-6066-9-033 and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, US Department of Agriculture, Hatch Project, under Accession Number 1021 494., European Project: 865694,H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC),DiversiPHI(2020), Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical (IHMT), Global Health and Tropical Medicine (GHTM), and TB, HIV and opportunistic diseases and pathogens (THOP)
- Subjects
ICTV ,Infectious Diseases ,Science & Technology ,SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being ,Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology ,Virology ,[SDV.MP.VIR]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Microbiology and Parasitology/Virology ,virus nomenclature ,virus taxonomy ,virus classification ,QR355 Virology ,Life Sciences & Biomedicine ,International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses - Abstract
The taxonomy of viruses is developed and overseen by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV), which scrutinizes, approves and ratifies taxonomic proposals, and maintains a list of virus taxa with approved names (https://ictv.global). The ICTV has approximately 180 members who vote by simple majority. Taxon-specific Study Groups established by the ICTV have a combined membership of over 600 scientists from the wider virology community; they provide comprehensive expertise across the range of known viruses and are major contributors to the creation and evaluation of taxonomic proposals. Proposals can be submitted by anyone and will be considered by the ICTV irrespective of Study Group support. Thus, virus taxonomy is developed from within the virology community and realized by a democratic decision-making process. The ICTV upholds the distinction between a virus or replicating genetic element as a physical entity and the taxon category to which it is assigned. This is reflected by the nomenclature of the virus species taxon, which is now mandated by the ICTV to be in a binomial format (genus + species epithet) and is typographically distinct from the names of viruses. Classification of viruses below the rank of species (such as, genotypes or strains) is not within the remit of the ICTV. This article, authored by the ICTV Executive Committee, explains the principles of virus taxonomy and the organization, function, processes and resources of the ICTV, with the aim of encouraging greater understanding and interaction among the wider virology community.
- Published
- 2023