Virus Properties by Family

Columns in the table with blue text headers can be sorted by clicking on the header text. Clicking twice will reverse the sort order.

Column 1
A numerical designation is provided for each indicated taxonomic family. This number is not persistent and will vary according to the settings of the selection filter. It  provides a means of counting the number of families matching the filters.

Family (sortable)
This column lists the virus families that are recognized in the current Master Species List (MSL).

Genera (sortable)
The number of genera present in the indicated family.

Species (sortable)
The number of species present in the indicated family.

Genome (sortable)
This column describes the chemical nature of the genome (DNA or RNA) and whether it is double-stranded (ds) or single stranded (ss). The suffix -RT indicates that reverse transcription is involved in the replication of the genome.

For ss genomes, the polarity of the genome is indicated: (+), mRNA polarity; (-), complementary to mRNA; (+/-), ambisense. At the family level, viruses with segmented genomes may have segments with different polarities (e.g., some arenaviruses have only ssRNA(-), others have ssRNA(-) and ssRNA(+/-) segments. In this case, the genome composition is designated as ssRNA(-); ssRNA(+/-) to indicate that both forms can be found in the genome.

Genome topology (sortable)
This column indicates if the genome is a linear or circular molecule and the number of segments

Total genome size (kb or kbp)
This column indicates the range of sizes encompassed by genomes of virus isolates described in the current Virus Metadata Resource (VMR).

Envelope (sortable)
This column indicates if the virion is known to have, or not have, a lipid envelope. A value of "Yes or No" indicates the variable presence of an envelope. Viruses identified only by metagenomics will usually not have a value in this column (envelope is "not determined").

Virion shape (sortable)
This column indicates the shape of the virion, as seen by electron microscopy. The column also includes some predicted morphologies but does not include information for many viruses identified only by metagenomics.

Virion size
This column indicates the range of virion sizes encompassed by virus isolates described in the current VMR.

Host (sortable)
This column indicates the known host(s) of viruses in the family. Hosts are uncertain for many viruses, especially those described by metagenomic analysis of environmental samples. The term protist is used to mean any eukaryotic organism that is not an animal, plant or fungus.

ICTV Report Chapter
This column provides a link to the relevant ICTV online report chapter.

Display families with the following properties:

Enter any part of a taxon name at the rank of family or higher to return the matching family names in that hierarchy
Family Genera Species Genome Genome topology Genome size (kb/kbp) Envelope Virion shape Virion size Host ICTV Report Chapter
26 Arenaviridae 5 69 ssRNA(-); ssRNA(+/-) 2–3 linear segments 9.2–13.8 yes pleomorphic, mostly spherical 40–150 nm diameter vertebrates Arenaviridae
27 Arenbergviridae 1 1 dsDNA 1 linear segment 286.7–286.8 no head-tail 131 nm diameter head, 136 nm long tail bacteria
28 Armatusviridae 1 1 dsDNA 1 linear segment 51.1–51.2 predicted head-tail archaea
29 Arteriviridae 13 23 ssRNA(+) 1 linear segment 12.7–15.8 yes spherical 50–74 nm diameter vertebrates Arteriviridae
30 Artiviridae 1 9 dsRNA 1 linear segment 6.7–8.3 no icosahedral 40 nm diameter invertebrates Artiviridae
31 Artoviridae 2 9 ssRNA(-) 1 linear segment 10.5–12.5 yes spherical 100–130 nm diameter plants, invertebrates Artoviridae
32 Ascoviridae 2 4 dsDNA 1 circular segment 119.3–199.8 yes oblong, bacilliform, ovoid or allantoid 130 nm diameter, 200–400 nm long invertebrates Ascoviridae
33 Asfarviridae 1 1 dsDNA 1 linear segment 170.1–193.9 yes pleomorphic, mostly spherical 175–215 nm diameter invertebrates, vertebrates Asfarviridae
34 Aspiviridae 1 8 ssRNA(-); ssRNA(+/-) 3–4 linear segments 11.0–12.5 no filamentous 700–2000 nm long, 3 nm diameter plants Aspiviridae
35 Assiduviridae 3 3 dsDNA 1 linear segment 53.3–57.5 no head-tail 57 nm diameter head, 90–140 nm long tail bacteria
36 Astroviridae 2 22 ssRNA(+) 1 linear segment 6.1–7.4 no icosahedral 28–35 nm diameter vertebrates Astroviridae
37 Atkinsviridae 123 262 ssRNA(+) 1 linear segment 3.3–4.6 bacteria
38 Autographiviridae 134 381 dsDNA 1 linear segment 30.7–47.9 no head-tail 50–70 nm diameter head, 20 nm long tail bacteria
39 Autolykiviridae 2 5 dsDNA 1 linear segment 10.0–10.7 no icosahedral 85 nm diameter bacteria
40 Avsunviroidae 3 5 ssRNA 1 circular segment 0.2–0.5 capsidless plants Avsunviroidae
41 Bacilladnaviridae 7 22 ssDNA(+/-) 1 circular segment (+) and 1 linear segment (-) 4–6 (+), 0.8 (-) no icosahedral 35 nm diameter protists, invertebrates
42 Baculoviridae 4 97 dsDNA 1 circular segment 81.7–178.8 yes occluded or budded 30–60 nm diameter, 250–300 nm long invertebrates Baculoviridae
43 Barnaviridae 1 1 ssRNA(+) 1 linear segment 4.0–4.1 no bacilliform 20 nm diameter, 50 nm long fungi
44 Bartogtaviriformidae 1 1 dsDNA multisegmented uncertain no head-tail uncertain bacteria
45 Belpaoviridae 1 11 ssRNA-RT 2 identical linear segments 4.7–9.1 invertebrates, vertebrates Belpaoviridae
46 Benyviridae 1 4 ssRNA(+) 2–5 linear segments 11.2–16.0 no rod-shaped 20 nm diameter, 85–390 nm long plants Benyviridae
47 Betaflexiviridae 15 153 ssRNA(+) 1 linear segment 6.4–9.5 no filamentous 12 nm diameter, 600–1000 nm long plants Betaflexiviridae
48 Bicaudaviridae 1 1 dsDNA 1 circular segment 62.7–62.8 no spindle-shaped 80–120 nm body, ≦400 nm tails archaea Bicaudaviridae
49 Bidnaviridae 1 1 ssDNA(+/-) 2 linear segments 12.5–12.6 no icosahedral 25 nm diameter invertebrates Bidnaviridae
50 Birnaviridae 7 11 dsRNA 2 linear segments 5.7–6.7 no icosahedral 65 nm diameter invertebrates, vertebrates Birnaviridae