Family: Nairoviridae

Genus: Striwavirus

Distinguishing features 

Sānxiá water strider virus 1 (SxWSV-1) is the only known striwavirus and was detected in gerrid water striders. 

Virion

Virions are unknown

Nucleic acid

Based on sequence homology, striwaviruses contain three negative-sense single-stranded RNA segments (Li et al., 2015). 

Genome organization and replication

The S segment encodes the N protein, the M segment encodes the glycoprotein precursor (GPC), and the L segment encodes the large protein (L) containing an RdRP domain (Figure 1. Striwavirus). 

Figure 1. Striwavirus.  Schematic representation of striwavirus genome organization. The 5′- and 3′-ends of each segment (S, M, and L) are, by analogy to other nairoviruses, predicted to be complementary at their termini (UTR), likely promoting the formation of circular ribonucleoprotein complexes within the virion.

Biology

SxWSW-1 was isolated and sequenced from water striders (gerrids) collected in China between 2011 and 2013 (Li et al., 2015). Since no replication competent isolate was obtained, the virus biology is unknown. 

Derivation of names

Striwavirus: derived from Sānxiá water strider virus 1 and virus, suffix for a genus. 

Species demarcation criteria

The genus currently only includes a single species.