Book: Anaerodiviridae
Family: Anaerodiviridae (Interim Report)
This is a summary page created by the ICTV Report Editors using information from associated Taxonomic Proposals and the Master Species List.
Edited by: Mart Krupovic
Posted: April 2023, updated December 2024
Summary
The family Anaerodiviridae includes lytic, double-stranded DNA viruses with icosahedral capsids and non-contractile helical tails, and infecting methanogenic archaea of the class Methanobacteria (Table 1 Anaerodiviridae). The family Anaerodiviridae was established in 2022 (MSL 37) and currently includes a single species.
Table 1 Anaerodiviridae. Characteristics of members of the family Anaerodiviridae.
| Characteristic | Description |
| Example | Methanobacterium virus Drs3 (MH674343), species Metforvirus limi, genus Metforvirus |
| Virion | Icosahedral capsid with a diameter of approximately 60 nm and a non-contractile tail of approximately 230 nm (siphoviral morphology) |
| Genome | Linear, double-stranded DNA genome of 37 kbp (Figure 1 Anaerodiviridae) |
| Host range | Isolated from Methanobacterium formicicum Khl10, a hydrogenotrophic, methanogenic archaeon of the class Methanobacteria |
| Taxonomy | Realm Duplodnaviria, kingdom Heunggongvirae, phylum Uroviricota, class Caudoviricetes, order Methanobavirales: 1 genus and 1 species (Figure 2 Anaerodiviridae) |
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| Figure 1 Anaerodiviridae. Genome organisation of Methanobacterium virus Drs3, a member of the family Anaerodiviridae. Boxes indicate open reading frames as annotated on GenBank accession MH674343. |
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| Figure 2 Anaerodiviridae. Taxonomy of the family Anaerodiviridae. |
Derivation of name
Anaerodiviridae: truncation of "anaerobic digester", referring to the source of isolation.