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 typical 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
251 Paulinoviridae 2 3 ssDNA(+) 1 circular segment 5.6-5.9 no filamentous 7-12 nm diameter, 620-830 nm long bacteria Paulinoviridae
252 Pecoviridae 8 15 ssDNA(+/-) 1 circular segment 2.7-3.1 predicted icosahedral vertebrates Pecoviridae
253 Peduoviridae 58 126 dsDNA 1 linear segment 27.4-45.0 no head-tail 55-60 nm diameter head, 135-150 nm long tail bacteria
254 Peribunyaviridae 8 152 ssRNA(-) 3 linear segments 10.6-17.7 yes pleomorphic, mostly spherical 80-120 nm diameter invertebrates, vertebrates Peribunyaviridae
255 Permutotetraviridae 1 2 ssRNA(+) 1 linear segment 5.6-5.7 no icosahedral 40 nm diameter invertebrates Permutotetraviridae
256 Pervagoviridae 1 2 dsDNA 1 linear segment 72.5-73.0 no head-tail 60 nm diameter head, 23 nm long tail bacteria
257 Phasmaviridae 7 30 ssRNA(-) 3 linear segments 10.4-15.5 yes spherical 80-120 nm diameter invertebrates Phasmaviridae
258 Phenuiviridae 23 159 ssRNA(-); ssRNA(+/-) 2-8 linear segments 7.7-25.2 yes or no spherical or filamentous 80-120 nm diameter or 2-2.5 nm in diameter, 200-3000 nm long fungi, plants, invertebrates, vertebrates Phenuiviridae
259 Phlegiviridae 1 4 dsRNA 1 linear segment 9.4-11.6 no icosahedral or capsidless 55 nm diameter fungi
260 Phycodnaviridae 6 14 dsDNA 1 linear segment 154.6-407.4 no icosahedral 100-220 nm diameter protists
261 Phypoliviridae 1 1 dsDNA 1 linear segment 26.4-26.5 icosahedral 56-58 nm diameter protists
262 Picobirnaviridae 1 3 dsRNA 2 linear segments 3.5-4.3 no icosahedral 33-37 nm diameter bacteria Picobirnaviridae
263 Picornaviridae 68 159 ssRNA(+) 1 linear segment 2.1-10.2 no icosahedral 30-32 nm diameter vertebrates Picornaviridae
264 Pigerviridae 1 1 dsDNA 1 linear segment 53.2-53.3 predicted head-tail archaea
265 Pistolviridae 1 4 dsRNA 1 linear segment 5.8-6.7 no icosahedral 50 nm diameter vertebrates Pistolviridae
266 Pithoviridae 2 6 dsDNA 1 circular segment 460.0-683.3 no ovoid 1000-1500 nm long, 500 nm wide protists
267 Plasmaviridae 1 1 dsDNA 1 circular segment 11.9-12.0 yes pleomorphic, mostly spherical 50-125 nm diameter bacteria Plasmaviridae
268 Plectroviridae 4 6 ssDNA(+) 1 circular segment 4.4-8.3 no rod-shaped 10-16 nm diameter, 70-280 nm long bacteria Plectroviridae
269 Pleolipoviridae 3 16 ssDNA; ssDNA(+/-); dsDNA 1 circular segment, or 1 linear segment 7.0-17.0 yes pleomorphic or pseudo-spherical 40-70 nm diameter archaea Pleolipoviridae
270 Pneumoviridae 2 5 ssRNA(-) 1 linear segment 13.3-15.3 yes pleomorphic, filamentous or spherical 70-90 nm diameter and >2000 nm long, or 80-600 nm diameter vertebrates Pneumoviridae
271 Polycipiviridae 3 14 ssRNA(+) 1 linear segment 10.3-12.2 no icosahedral 33 nm diameter invertebrates Polycipiviridae
272 Polydnaviriformidae 2 53 dsDNA multiple circular segments 185.2-567.7 yes ellipsoid 250 nm diameter, 200-900 nm long invertebrates
273 Polymycoviridae 1 10 dsRNA 4-8 linear segments 7.4-12.3 no filamentous or unconventional 12 nm diameter, ≧1000 nm long fungi Polymycoviridae
274 Polyomaviridae 8 122 dsDNA 1 circular segment 3.9-7.4 no icosahedral 40-45 nm diameter vertebrates Polyomaviridae
275 Pootjesviridae 5 11 dsDNA 1 linear segment 143.3-158.6 no head-tail 84-90 nm diameter head, 80-140 nm long tail bacteria
276 Portogloboviridae 1 2 dsDNA 1 circular segment 20.2-20.5 no icosahedral 90 nm diameter archaea Portogloboviridae
277 Pospiviroidae 5 40 ssRNA 1 circular segment 0.2-0.4 capsidless plants Pospiviroidae
278 Potyviridae 13 259 ssRNA(+) 1-2 linear segments 8.1-11.7 no filamentous 11-20 nm diameter, 650-950 nm long plants Potyviridae
279 Poxviridae 22 56 dsDNA 1 linear segment 127.8-359.9 yes oval or brick-shaped 220-450 nm long x 140-260 nm wide x 140-260 nm high invertebrates, vertebrates Poxviridae
280 Pseudototiviridae 4 46 dsRNA 1 linear segment 4.6-6.3 no icosahedral 30-45 nm diameter protists, fungi, vertebrates
281 Pseudoviridae 3 33 ssRNA-RT 2 identical linear segments 4.6-21.9 no spherical or ovoid 20-40 nm diameter protists, fungi, plants, invertebrates Pseudoviridae
282 Pungoviridae 1 1 dsDNA 1 linear segment 37.0-37.1 no head-tail 60 nm diameter head, 125 nm long tail archaea
283 Pyrstoviridae 1 1 dsDNA 1 linear segment 42.2-42.3 no head-tail 50 nm diameter head, 60 nm long tail archaea Pyrstoviridae
284 Qinviridae 1 8 ssRNA(-) 2 linear segments 7.3-8.3 invertebrates Qinviridae
285 Quadriviridae 1 3 dsRNA 4 linear segments 16.8-17.6 no icosahedral 48 nm diameter fungi Quadriviridae
286 Quambiviridae 1 4 ssRNA(+/-) 1 circular segment 4.5-5.2 fungi
287 Redondoviridae 1 2 ssDNA(+/-) 1 circular segment 3.0-3.1 predicted icosahedral vertebrates Redondoviridae
288 Retroviridae 11 65 ssRNA-RT 2 identical linear segments 2.4-13.3 yes spherical 80-100 nm diameter vertebrates Retroviridae
289 Rhabdoviridae 62 580 ssRNA(-) 1-2 linear segments 9.8-16.7 yes or no bullet-shaped/bacilliform or filamentous 45-100 nm diameter, 100-430 nm long, or variable plants, invertebrates, vertebrates Rhabdoviridae
290 Rhodogtaviriformidae 4 4 dsDNA multisegmented uncertain no oblate, head-tail 45 nm long and 65 nm wide head, 50 nm long tail bacteria
291 Roniviridae 2 4 ssRNA(+) 1 linear segment 26.2-29.2 yes rod-shaped 40-60 nm diameter, 150-200 nm long invertebrates Roniviridae
292 Rountreeviridae 6 38 dsDNA 1 linear segment 16.6-18.9 no head-tail 55 nm diameter head, 27 nm long tail bacteria
293 Rudiviridae 7 17 dsDNA 1 linear segment 20.2-36.5 no filamentous 23-38 nm diameter, 830-900 nm long archaea Rudiviridae
294 Ruviroviridae 1 1 dsDNA 1 linear segment 26.2-26.3 protists
295 Saffermanviridae 5 10 dsDNA 1 linear segment 39.7-44.9 no head-tail 50 nm diameter head, 15 nm long tail bacteria
296 Salasmaviridae 13 35 dsDNA 1 linear segment 17.7-29.0 no prolate head-tail 52-54 nm long and 29-45 nm wide head, 30 nm long tail bacteria
297 Saparoviridae 2 2 dsDNA 1 linear segment 52.6-54.3 no head-tail 50-110 nm diameter head, tail variable or unknown archaea Saparoviridae
298 Sarkviridae 5 88 dsDNA 1 linear segment 39.7-44.9 no head-tail 60 nm diameter head, 120 nm long tail bacteria
299 Sarthroviridae 1 1 ssRNA(+) 1 linear segment 0.7-0.9 no icosahedral 15 nm diameter invertebrates Sarthroviridae
300 Satyavativiridae 1 1 dsDNA 1 linear segment 86.9-87.0 no predicted head-tail archaea