Changes to virus taxonomy and to the International Code of Virus Classification and Nomenclature ratified by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (2021)
Walker, Peter J; Siddell, Stuart G; Lefkowitz, Elliot J; Mushegian, Arcady R; Adriaenssens, Evelien M; Alfenas-Zerbini, Poliane; Davison, Andrew J; Dempsey, Donald M; Dutilh, Bas E; García, María Laura; Harrach, Balázs; Harrison, Robert L; Hendrickson, R Curtis; Junglen, Sandra; Knowles, Nick J; Krupovic, Mart; Kuhn, Jens H; Lambert, Amy J; Łobocka, Małgorzata; Nibert, Max L; Oksanen, Hanna M; Orton, Richard J; Robertson, David L; Rubino, Luisa; Sabanadzovic, Sead; Simmonds, Peter; Smith, Donald B; Suzuki, Nobuhiro; Van Dooerslaer, Koenraad; Vandamme, Anne-Mieke; Varsani, Arvind; Zerbini, Francisco Murilo
(2021) Archives of Virology, volume 166, issue 9, pp. 2633 - 2648
(Article)
Abstract
This article reports the changes to virus taxonomy approved and ratified by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) in March 2021. The entire ICTV was invited to vote on 290 taxonomic proposals approved by the ICTV Executive Committee at its meeting in October 2020, as well as on
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the proposed revision of the International Code of Virus Classification and Nomenclature (ICVCN). All proposals and the revision were ratified by an absolute majority of the ICTV members. Of note, ICTV mandated a uniform rule for virus species naming, which will follow the binomial 'genus-species' format with or without Latinized species epithets. The Study Groups are requested to convert all previously established species names to the new format. ICTV has also abolished the notion of a type species, i.e., a species chosen to serve as a name-bearing type of a virus genus. The remit of ICTV has been clarified through an official definition of 'virus' and several other types of mobile genetic elements. The ICVCN and ICTV Statutes have been amended to reflect these changes.
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Keywords: Classification/methods, International Cooperation, Phylogeny, Viroids/classification, Viruses/classification, Viruses, Unclassified/classification, Taverne, Virology
ISSN: 0304-8608
Publisher: Springer Wien
Note: Funding Information: E.M.A. gratefully acknowledges funding by the U.K. Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC); this research was funded by the BBSRC Institute Strategic Programme Gut Microbes and Health BB/R012490/1 and its constituent projects BBS/E/F/000PR10353 and BBS/E/F/000PR10356. A.J.D. is supported by the U.K. Medical Research Council (MC_UU_12014/3). B.E.D. is supported by Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) Vidi grant 864.14.004. B.H. is supported by the National Research, Development and Innovation Office—NKFIH (NN128309). N.J.K. is partially supported by core funding provided by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, UK. Mention of trade names or commercial products in this publication is solely for the purpose of providing specific information and does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. USDA is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer. This work was supported in part through Laulima Government Solutions, LLC prime contract with the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (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 by funding for FINStruct and Instruct Centre FI, part of Biocenter Finland and Instruct-ERIC. D.L.R. is supported by the U.K. Medical Research Council (MC_UU_1201412). R.J.O. and D.B.S. are supported by the Wellcome Trust (WT108418AIA). S.S. acknowledges partial support from the Special Research Initiative (MAFES), Mississippi State University, and from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, US Department of Agriculture, Hatch Project 1021494. Except for Donald M. Dempsey, R. Curtis Hendrickson, Richard J. Orton and Donald B. Smith, the authors were members of the ICTV Executive Committee during the relevant period. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the US Department of Health and Human Services, or of the institutions and companies affiliated with the authors. Publisher Copyright: © 2021, This is a U.S. government work and not under copyright protection in the U.S.; foreign copyright protection may apply.
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