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
301 Vilmaviridae 8 27 dsDNA 1 linear segment 68.0–84.4 no head-tail 60–80 nm long head, 345–350 nm long tail bacteria
302 Vilyaviridae 15 27 ssDNA; ssDNA(+/-) 1 circular segment 1.9–2.4 predicted icosahedral protists
303 Virgaviridae 7 59 ssRNA(+) 1–3 linear segments 6.2–12.4 no rod-shaped 20 nm diameter, ≦300 nm long plants Virgaviridae
304 Winoviridae 2 3 dsDNA 1 linear segment 34.7–39.7 no head-tail 52 nm long head, 105 nm long tail bacteria
305 Wupedeviridae 1 1 ssRNA(-) 3 linear segments 20.4–20.5 invertebrates Wupedeviridae
306 Xinmoviridae 22 25 ssRNA(-) 1 linear segment 9.6–15.7 invertebrates Xinmoviridae
307 Yadokariviridae 2 10 ssRNA(+) 1 linear segment 2.8–6.4 trans-encapsidated fungi Yadokariviridae
308 Yadonushiviridae 1 1 dsRNA 1 linear segment 8.9–9.0 no icosahedral 40 nm diameter fungi
309 Yangangviridae 3 3 dsDNA 1 segment 36.6–38.3 predicted head-tail archaea
310 Yanlukaviridae 1 1 dsDNA 1 segment 35.8–35.9 predicted head-tail archaea
311 Yaraviridae 1 1 dsDNA 1 linear segment 44.9–45.0 icosahedral 80 nm diameter protists
312 Yueviridae 1 2 ssRNA(-) 2 linear segments 7.7–8.2 invertebrates Yueviridae
313 Zierdtviridae 9 27 dsDNA 1 linear segment 64.1–70.6 no head-tail 50–60 nm diameter head, 240–260 nm long tail bacteria
314 Zobellviridae 8 11 dsDNA 1 linear segment 38.8–49.7 no head-tail 60 nm long head, 20 nm long tail bacteria