VMC 503
General Virology
Nomenclature and classification of Viruses
Dr. Vilis D. Patel
(PG 1 st Year )
Dept. of Veterinary Microbiology
College of Veterinary Science & Animal Husbandry,KU,
Anand
VIRAL TAXONOMY
• More than 4000 different viruses and 30,000
different strains and sub- types have been
recognized
• Virus classification is the process of naming viruses
and placing them into a taxonomic system.
Purpose of classification
• To make systemic ordered arrangement of
viruses that have similarity and
differences.
• Identifying the properties and nature of
new viruses
• With the earliest recognition that infectious agents were associated with a
given spectrum of clinical and pathogenic properties, common organ
tropisms, and common ecological and transmission characteristics. For
example, viruses that cause hepatitis (e.g., canine hepatitis virus, an
adenovirus, Rift Valley fever virus, a bunyavirus, and hepatitis B virus, a
hepadnavirus) might have been brought together as "hepatitis viruses.
• The agent that caused foot-and mouth disease in cattle becomes “foot-
and-mouth disease virus.”
• Subsequent taxonomic systems have focused on the viruses themselves and have
been based on…….
Virion Determined by
• Size • Ultrafiltration and electron microscopy
• Morphology • Electron microscopy
• Stability • pH and temperature,
• lipid solvents and detergents, virion • Serologic methods.
antigenicity
• Viruses that were transmitted by insect vectors were loosely defined as
“arboviruses”— arthropod-borne viruses.
• Ex. Japanese encephalitis virus, (mosquito borne)
• African horse sickness virus (biting midges)
• viruses that “looked like” arboviruses (togaviruses—viruses with a symmetrical lipid
membrane) and had the same nucleic acid, but did not have an insect vector. These
became “nonarthropod-borne” [Link]. Estern equine encephalitis virus.
Nomenclature of Viruses
The ICTV has established guidelines for naming newly discovered viruses.
The Latin binomial names that are used for living organisms, where the genus
and species are listed together (such as Homo sapiens or Yersinia pestis), are
not used for naming viruses.
When directly referring to a viral order, family, genus, or species the virus
name should be written in italics with the first letter capitalized.
Virus name is based on……
Viruses named after the clinical conditions they cause
Hepatitis virus Although they are not in the same family, all hepatitis viruses
cause liver inflammation (hepatitis)
Poxviruses From pockes meaning “sac,” referring to the blistery rash
observed
Rabies virus From Latin rabies, meaning “madness,” describing the
symptoms seen with disease progression
viruses named after their location of discovery
Nipah virus First identified in the Malaysian village of Kampung Sungai Nipah in
1998
West Nile First isolated from a woman in the West Nile district of Uganda in 1937
virus
Viruses named after their properties
Coronavirus From Latin corona, meaning crown, referring to the crown-like
appearance of the virions when viewed with an electron microscope
Herpesviruses From Greek herpein, “to creep,” referring to the lesions that slowly
spread across the skin
Picornaviruses Pico meaning “small” + RNA viruses
Viruses named after people (historically assigned; viruses can no longer be named after
individuals)
Rous sarcoma virus Discovered by Peyton Rous in 1911
CLASSIFICATION OF VIRUSES
The following criteria are used to classify viruses:
• Morphology - structure of capsid ,presence or absence of envelope
• Size of the virion
• Type of host/host structures the virus infected Smallest Virus :
Bacteriophages: infect bacterial cells ❑ Parvovirus (DNA)
Plant viruses infect plant cells ❑ Picornavirus (RNA)
Animal viruses are subgrouped by the tissues they attack:
Dermotrophic: They infect the skin Largest Virus:
Neurotrophic : They infect nerve tissue ❑ Poxvirus (DNA)
Genome composition - DNA / RNA (ds/ss DNA and ds/ss RNA) ❑ Coronavirus (RNA)
Classification of Viruses
1-Taxonomic groups - family, subfamily, genus and species
2-The names of virus families (family) are italicized - End in Latin suffix-viridae
3-The genera (genus) end in the suffix – virus
4-The species - English common name
Classical system of classification: In 1962, viruses were classified under
classical system of classification by Lwoff, Horne and Tournier under
hierarchical system consisting of phylum, class, order, family, genus and
species.
In this system the viruses were grouped based on the properties they share
among themselves than the properties of the cells or organisms they infect.
The other important features included in classical system are nature of
nucleic acid, symmetry of the capsid, presence or absence of envelope and
dimensions of virion.
Classification based on……
Morphology and capsid symmetry of viruses
Icosahedral symmetry Binal symmetry Complex symmetry Binal symmetry
Viruses show basically four types of symmetry, icosahedral, [Link]
and binal symmetry.
1. Icosahedral : 20 triangular faces with 5 each at the top and bottom and 10 at
the middle. There are 12 vertices and 30 edges
2. Helical : capsomeres are set in a helical manner around the genome nucleic
acid.
3. Complex: Eg: pox viruses have the most complex virion structure containing
diferent proteins and lipoproteins.
4. Binal symmetry. Eg: bacteriophages - viruses which infect bacteria. They
have an icosahedral head with a helical body
Baltimore classification system
• This system was proposed by David Baltimore. This classification is based on genetic
system of each virus and the obligatory relationship between viral genome and its
mRNA. In Baltimore classification, viruses are grouped under seven different groups.
They are as follows;
Classification
❑ Group I – Double stranded DNA viruses
❑ Group II – Single stranded DNA viruses
❑ Group III – Double stranded RNA viruses
❑ Group IV – Single stranded RNA viruses positive sense
❑ Group V – Single strande RNA viruses negative sense
❑ Group VI - Positive sense single stranded RNA viruses that replicate through a DNA
intermediate
❑ Group VII - Double stranded viruse that replicate through a single stranded RNA
intermediate
DNA VIRUSES
Double stranded DNA Single stranded DNA
(ds DNA ) (ss DNA)
Linear Circular
Linear ss DNA Circular ss DNA
ds DNA ds DNA
Poxviridae Papillomaviridae Parvoviridae Circoviridae
Herpesviridae Polyomaviridae Anelloviridae
Adenoviridae Hepadnaviridae
Asfarviridae
Iridoviridae
RNA Viruses
Single stranded RNA Single stranded RT-RNA Double stranded DNA RT- Double stranded
Viruses ( ss RNA) Viruses ( ss RNA) Viruses ( ss RNA) RNA ( ds RNA )
Hepadnaviridae Reoviridae
Retroviridae
Birnaviridae
Negative sense RNA
Positive sense RNA
Picornaviridae Orthomyxoviridae
caliciviridae Paramyxoviridae
Flaviridae Rhabdoviridae
Coronaviridae Bunyaviridae
Bornaviridae
The hierarchy of recognized viral taxa is (As on February 2019):
Realm → Subrealm → Kingdom → Subkingdom → Order → Suborder Family Phylum →
Subphylum → Class → Subclass Subfamily Genus → Subgenus → Species
For example:
Riboviria (Realm) Monjiviricetes (Class) Negarnaviricota (Phylum) → Haploviricotina
(Subphylum)→ Mononegavirales (Order) Paramyxoviridae(Family) → Orthoparamyxovirinae
(Subfamily) → Morbillivirus (Genus) → Canine morbillivirus (Species)
*Taxa Used to Classify Viruses
Taxon Notes Example
Order Ends in -virales suffix; only about half of viruses are Picornavirales
currently classified in orders.
Family Ends in -viridae suffix; subfamilies are indicated with - Picornaviridae
virinae suffix.
Genus Ends in -virus suffix. Enterovirus
Species Generally the “common name” of the virus. Classifying Rhinovirus A (Serotypes
and cataloging anything below the species classification include Human rhinovirus 1,
(such as subtypes, serotypes, strains, isolates, or variants) is which includes strains
the responsibility of the specific field. human rhinovirus 1A and
human rhinovirus 1B)
Order: Mononegavirales
(mano single, neg = negative)
A group of related viruses
having negative-strand RNA
Genomes
Contains four
families including:
Family: Paramyxoviridae
(paramyxo Greek para, by
the side of, and myxo, mucus)
Contains two subfamilies, including:
Subfamily: Paramyxovirinae
Contains six genera, including:
Genus: Rubulavirus (rubula, from rubula Genus: Morbillivirus (morbilli from Latin
infans, an old name for mumps) morbillus, diminutive form of morbus disease)
species: Mumps virus
species: Measles virus
ICTV classification:
As for classification of bacteria, a separate committee called International
Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) decides the grouping and regrouping
of viruses.
• The ICTV classifies viruses based upon a variety of different characteristics with
the intention of categorizing the most similar viruses with each other.
• In this system certain aspects of classical system of classification like grouping
under family, genera and Baltimore system of classification are used.
• At present there are more than 1,550 virus species belonging to 3 orders, 56
families, 9 subfamilies and 233 genera are recognized in this report.
• Only the viruses that affect vertebrates are included in the following table.
Group I: dsDNA Viruses
Family (Subfamily) Genus Type Species Hosts
Adenoviridae Mastadenovirus Human adenovirus C Vertebrates
Aviadenovirus Fowl adenovirus A Vertebrates
Asfarviridae Asfivirus African swine fever virus Vertebrates
Herpesviridae: Varicellovirus Human herpesvirus 1 Vertebrates
Alphaherpesvirinae
Gammaherpesvirinae Lymphocryptovirus Human herpesvirus 4 Vertebrates
Rhadinovirus Simian herpesvirus 2 Vertebrates
Iridoviridae Ranavirus Frog virus 3 Vertebrates
Lymphocystivirus Lymphocystis disease Vertebrates
virus 1
Polyomaviridae Polyomavirus Simian virus 40 Vertebrates
Papillomaviridae Papillomavirus Cottontail rabbit Vertebrates
papillomavirus
Orthopoxvirus Vaccinia virus Vertebrates
Poxviridae: Parapoxvirus Orf virus Vertebrates
Avipoxvirus Fowlpox virus Vertebrates
Capripoxvirus Sheeppox virus Vertebrates
Leporipoxvirus Myxoma virus Vertebrates
Suipoxvirus Swinepox virus Vertebrates
Baculoviridae Nucleopolyhedrovirus Autographa californica Invertebrates
nucleopolyhedrovirus
Group II: ssDNA Viruses
Circoviridae Circovirus Porcine circovirus Vertebrates
Gyrovirus Chicken anemia virus Vertebrates
Parvoviridae: Parvovirus Mice minute virus Vertebrates
Parvovirinae Dependovirus Adeno-associated virus 2 Vertebrates
Group III: dsRNA Viruses
Birnaviridae Avibirnavirus Infectious bursal disease Vertebrates
virus
Reoviridae Orbivirus Bluetongue virus Vertebrates
Rotavirus Rotavirus A Vertebrates
Group IV: (+)sense RNA Viruses
Order Nidovirales - "Nested" Viruses
Arteriviridae Arterivirus Equine arteritis virus Vertebrates
Coronaviridae Coronavirus Infectious bronchitis virus Vertebrates
Astroviridae Astrovirus Human astrovirus 1 Vertebrates
Caliciviridae Vesivirus Swine vesicular exanthema virus Vertebrates
Flaviviridae Flavivirus Yellow fever virus Vertebrates
Pestivirus Bovine diarrhea virus 1 Vertebrates
Hepacivirus Hepatitis C virus Vertebrates
Picornaviridae Enterovirus Poliovirus Vertebrates
Hepatovirus Hepatitis A virus Vertebrates
Aphthovirus Foot-and-mouth Vertebrates
disease virus O
Togaviridae Alphavirus Sindbis virus Vertebrates
Rubivirus Rubella virus Vertebrates
Group V: (-)sense RNA Viruses
Order Mononegavirales
Bornaviridae Bornavirus Borna disease virus Vertebrates
Filoviridae Marburg-like viruses Marburg virus Vertebrates
Ebola-like viruses Ebola virus Vertebrates
Paramyxoviridae: Respirovirus Sendai virus Vertebrates
Paramyxovirinae Morbillivirus Measles virus Vertebrates
Rubulavirus Mumps virus Vertebrates
Pneumovirinae Pneumovirus Human respiratory syncytial virus Vertebrates
Metapneumovirus Turkey rhinotracheitis virus Vertebrates
Rhabdoviridae Vesiculovirus Vesicular stomatitis Indiana virus Vertebrates
Lyssavirus Rabies virus Vertebrates
Ephemerovirus Bovine ephemeral fever virus Vertebrates
Novirhabdovirus Infectious haematopoetic necrosis virus Vertebrates
Arenaviridae Arenavirus Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus Vertebrates
Bunyaviridae Bunyavirus Bunyamwera virus Vertebrates
Hantavirus Hantaan virus Vertebrates
Nairovirus Nairobi sheep disease virus Vertebrates
Phlebovirus Sandfly fever Sicilian virus Vertebrates
Orthomyxoviridae Influenza A virus Influenza A virus Vertebrates
Influenza B virus Influenza B virus Vertebrates
Influenza C virus Influenza C virus Vertebrates
Thogotovirus Thogoto virus Vertebrates
Group VI: RNA Reverse Transcribing Viruses
Retroviridae Alpharetrovirus Avian leukosis virus Vertebrates
Betaretrovirus Mouse mammary tumor virus Vertebrates
Gammaretrovirus Murine leukemia virus Vertebrates
Deltaretrovirus Bovine leukemia virus Vertebrates
Epsilonretrovirus Walley dermal sarcoma virus Vertebrates
Lentivirus Human immunodeficiency Vertebrates
virus 1
Group VII: DNA Reverse Transcribing Viruses
Hepadnaviridae Orthohepadnavirus Hepatitis B virus Vertebrates
Avihepadnavirus Duck hepatitis B virus Vertebrates
Subviral Agents: Satellites and Prions
Prions Vertebrates
REFERENCES
❖ FENNER’S VETERINARY VIROLOGY 5th Editition
❖ VETERINARY VIROLOGY BY FREDERICK A. MURPHY,
[Link] [Link], Marian C. Horzinek, Michael J Studdert
❖ TANUVAS CLASS NOTES BY Dr. [Link] CHITRA
Dr.J. JOHN KIRUBAHARAN
❖ [Link]
THANK YOU
