key: cord-0750467-6n7mwdnf
authors: Pringle, C. R.
title: The universal system of virus taxonomy of the International Committee on Virus Taxonomy (ICTV), including new proposals ratified since publication of the Sixth ICTV Report in 1995
date: 2014-04-07
journal: Arch Virol
DOI: 10.1007/s007050050280
sha: 898d37537e9d038e5ba24c8908c5324207c7eb64
doc_id: 750467
cord_uid: 6n7mwdnf

nan

A number of new taxonomic proposals have been considered by the Executive Committee of the International Committee on Virus Taxonomy (ICTV) since publication of its Sixth Report in 1995 [2] . Several of these proposals were ratified subsequently at the Plenary Meeting of the ICTV during the Tenth International Congress of Virology in Jerusalem in August 1996. Others have been ratified by postal ballot of the full membership of the ICTV subsequent to a meeting of the Executive Committee of the ICTV in Strasbourg in May 1997. Table 1 presents the current version of the Universal System of Virus Taxonomy which includes the new taxonomic proposals which have been ratified by the ICTV up to the end of 1997 [1] . This is an abbreviated version of the up-dated taxonomy; it does not extend to the listing of approved virus species, a feature which is expanding rapidly. A major revision of virus taxonomy is being undertaken currently by the individual Study Groups of the ICTV, which is scheduled to be published as the Seventh Report of the ICTV prior to the Eleventh International Congress of Virology in Sydney in 1999.

The order of presentation of virus taxa follows that adopted in the Sixth Report. It is based on four criteria:

(1) the nature of the viral genome, (2) the strandedness of the viral genome, (3) the facility for reverse transcription, and (4) the polarity of the virus genome.

The order of presentation does not imply any hierarchical or phylogenetic relationship. At present viruses are classified into 189 genera. Of these, 166 are classified into 55 families. The remaining 23 are "floating" genera which have yet to be assigned to a higher taxon. Two Orders have been established: the order Mononegavirales to include the four families Bornaviridae, Filoviridae, Paramyxoviridae and Rhabdoviridae, and the order Nidovirales to include the two families Coronaviridae and Arteriviridae.

It should be noted that the genus containing potato mop top virus is recorded here as Pomovirus, and not Potamovirus as recorded erroneously in the report of the Strasbourg Meeting, published in the August issue of Virology Division News [3] . 

"T4-like phages" coliphage T4 "P1-like phages" enterobacteria phage P1 "P2-like phages" enterobacteria phage P2 "Mu-like phages" enterobacteria phage Mu "SPO1-like phages" Bacillus phage SPO1 "φH-like phages"

Halobacterium virus φH

Siphoviridae "λ-like phages" coliphage λ "T1-like phages" enterobacteria phage T1 "T5-like phages" enterobacteria phage T5 "c2-like phages" Lactococcus phage c2 "L5-like phages" Mycobacterium phage L5 "ΨM-like phages"

Methanobacterium ΨM

Podoviridae "T7-like phages" coliphage T7 "φ29-like" Bacillus phage φ29 "P22-like" enterobacteria phage P22

(continued) 

Virus taxonomy -1997

Virus Taxonomy. Classification and Nomenclature of Viruses. Sixth Report of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses

Virus taxonomy -1997

Secretary ICTV, c/o Biological Sciences Department