Virus taxonomy proposal summaries: a searchable and citable resource to disseminate virus taxonomy advances: This article is part of the ICTV Virus Taxonomy Summaries collection.&#160;

Richard Mayne; Peter Simmonds; Donald B. Smith; Evelien M. Adriaenssens; Elliot J. Lefkowitz; Hanna M. Oksanen; Francisco Murilo Zerbini; Poliane Alfenas-Zerbini; Frank O Aylward; Juliana Freitas-Astúa; R. Curtis Hendrickson; Holly R. Hughes; Mart Krupovic; Jens H. Kuhn; Małgorzata Łobocka; Arcady R. Mushegian; Judit Penzes; Alejandro Reyes Muñoz; David L. Robertson; Simon Roux; Luisa Rubino; Sead Sabanadzovic; Nobuhiro Suzuki; Dann Turner; Koenraad Van Doorslaer; Arvind Varsani

doi:10.1099/jgv.0.002079

Virus taxonomy proposal summaries: a searchable and citable resource to disseminate virus taxonomy advances

This article is part of the ICTV Virus Taxonomy Summaries collection.

Richard Mayne¹, Peter Simmonds¹, Donald B. Smith¹, Evelien M. Adriaenssens², Elliot J. Lefkowitz³, Hanna M. Oksanen⁴, Francisco Murilo Zerbini⁵, Poliane Alfenas-Zerbini⁶, Frank O Aylward⁷, Juliana Freitas-Astúa⁸, R. Curtis Hendrickson³, Holly R. Hughes⁹, Mart Krupovic¹⁰, Jens H. Kuhn¹¹, Małgorzata Łobocka¹², Arcady R. Mushegian¹³, Judit Penzes¹⁴, Alejandro Reyes Muñoz¹⁵, David L. Robertson¹⁶, Simon Roux¹⁷, Luisa Rubino¹⁸, Sead Sabanadzovic¹⁹, Nobuhiro Suzuki²⁰, Dann Turner²¹, Koenraad Van Doorslaer²² and Arvind Varsani²³
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¹ Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Peter Medawar Building, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3SY, UK ² Quadram Institute Bioscience, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UQ, UK ³ Department of Microbiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, BBRB 276, 845 19th St South, Birmingham, AL 35294-2170, USA ⁴ Molecular and Integrative Biosciences Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Viikinkaari 9, 00014 Helsinki, Finland ⁵ Departamento de Fitopatologia/BIOAGRO, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, MG 36570-900, Brazil ⁶ Departamento de Microbiologia, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, MG 36570-900, Brazil ⁷ Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA ⁸ Embrapa Cassava and Fruits, Cruz das Almas, Bahia, 44380-000, Brazil ⁹ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA ¹⁰ Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, CNRS UMR6047, Archaeal Virology Unit, 25 rue du Dr Roux, 75015 Paris, France ¹¹ Integrated Research Facility at Fort Detrick, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, B-8200 Research Plaza, Fort Detrick, Frederick, MD 21702, USA ¹² Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics of the Polish Academy of Sciences, 02-106 Warsaw, Poland ¹³ Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, National Science Foundation, 2415 Eisenhower Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22314, USA ¹⁴ Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA ¹⁵ Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia ¹⁶ MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Sir Michael Stoker Building, 464 Bearsden Road, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK ¹⁷ Department of Energy, Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, USA ¹⁸ Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto per la Protezione Sostenibile delle Piante, Sede Secondaria di Bari, Via Amendola 165/A, 70126 Bari, Italy ¹⁹ Department of Agricultural Science and Plant Protection, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39762, USA ²⁰ Institute of Plant Science and Resources, Okayama University, Kurashiki, Okayama 710-0046, Japan ²¹ Molecular Biology, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK ²² Department of Immunobiology, School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences, BIO5 Institute, University of Arizona Cancer Center, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA ²³ The Biodesign Center for Fundamental and Applied Microbiomics, School of Life Sciences, Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-4701, USA
*Correspondence: Peter Simmonds, [email protected]
Published: 25 July 2025 https://doi.org/10.1099/jgv.0.002079

Abstract

Taxonomic classification of cellular organisms requires the publication of descriptions and proposed names of species and the deposition of specimens. Virus taxonomy is developed through a different system of annual submission of formal taxonomy proposals (TPs) that can be submitted by anyone but are typically prepared by a study group appointed by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) and consisting of experts on a particular group of viruses. These are initially evaluated by an expert subcommittee and by the executive committee (EC) of the ICTV. EC-approved TPs are then submitted for evaluation and a ratification vote by the wider ICTV membership. Following ratification, the new taxonomy is annually updated in the Master Species List, associated databases and bioinformatic resources. The process is consistent, creates traceability in assignments and supports a fully evaluated, hierarchical classification and nomenclature of all taxonomic ranks from species to realms. The structure also facilitates large-scale and coordinated changes to virus taxonomy, such as the recent introduction of a binomial species nomenclature.

TPs are available on the ICTV website after ratification, but they are not indexed in bibliographic databases and are not easily cited. Authors of TPs do not receive citation credit for adopted proposals, and their voluntary contributions are largely invisible in the published literature. For greater visibility of TPs and their authors, the ICTV will commence the annual publication of summaries of all TPs from each ICTV subcommittee. These summaries will provide a searchable compendium of all annual taxonomy changes and additions as well as direct links to the Master Species List and other ICTV bioinformatic resources. Their publication will provide due credit and citations for their authors, form the basis for disseminating taxonomy decisions and promote greater visibility and accessibility to taxonomy changes for the virology community.

Received: 30/01/2025
Accepted: 30/01/2025
Published Online: 25/07/2025

Keyword(s): ICTV , master species list , taxonomy proposal and virus taxonomy

Funding

This study was supported by the:

Society for General Microbiology
- Principal Award Recipient: DonaldB. Smith

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. This article was made open access via a Publish and Read agreement between the Microbiology Society and the corresponding author’s institution.

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Virus taxonomy proposal summaries: a searchable and citable resource to disseminate virus taxonomy advances

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Virus taxonomy proposal summaries: a searchable and citable resource to disseminate virus taxonomy advances

This article is part of the ICTV Virus Taxonomy Summaries collection.

Abstract

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