Ratification vote on taxonomic proposals to the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (2016)

This article lists the changes to virus taxonomy approved and ratified by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) in April 2016. Changes to virus taxonomy (the Universal Scheme of Virus Classification of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses [ICTV]) now take place annually and are the result of a multi-stage process. In accordance with the ICTV Statutes (http://​www.​ictvonline.​org/​statutes.​asp), proposals submitted to the ICTV Executive Committee (EC) undergo a review process that involves input from the ICTV Study Groups (SGs) and Subcommittees (SCs), other interested virologists, and the EC. After final approval by the EC, proposals are then presented for ratification to the full ICTV membership by publication on an ICTV web site (http://​www.​ictvonline.​org/​) followed by an electronic vote. The latest set of proposals approved by the EC was made available on the ICTV website by January 2016 (https://​talk.​ictvonline.​org/​files/​proposals/​). A list of these proposals was then emailed on 28 March 2016 to the 148 members of ICTV, namely the EC Members, Life Members, ICTV Subcommittee Members (including the SG chairs) and ICTV National Representatives. Members were then requested to vote on whether to ratify the taxonomic proposals (voting closed on 29 April 2016)

Specificity of enzyme-substrate interactions in foot-and-mouth disease virus polyprotein processing

A series of transcripts derived from FMDV cDNA plasmids containing defined regions of the genome were translated in a rabbit reticulocyte lysate system. The products were analysed directly or following incubation with an FMDV-infected cell processing extract. Processing by the L proteinase at the U1 A cleavage site occurred when most of the P1-2A protein was absent. Substitution of sequences upstream of the 2C/3A cleavage site showed that the 3C proteinase was also able to cleave at an entirely novel cleavage site, apparently at K-I amino acid pairs. Cleavage at the 2A/2B site was not only independent of L and 3C proteinases, but was shown to occur when 2A and as few as four 2B N-terminal amino acids were present. Thus, the disparate proteolytic activities responsible for all three primary processing events that give rise to the products L, P1-2A, 2BC, and P3 were highly resistant either to major deletion or substitution of protein sequences adjacent to, or at, the site of cleavage. By contrast, secondary processing in trans was sensitive to changes at remote sites. For example, removal of the C-terminal regions of P1-2A and 2BC precursors impaired their ability to act as substrates for 3C proteinase activity. Processing of P1-2A, particularly of the 1 D/2A cleavage site, was enhanced by inclusion of sequences from the 3D region of the genome.</p

Intracellular expression and processing of foot-and-mouth disease virus capsid precursors using vaccinia virus vectors:Influence of the L protease

cDNA cassettes of FMDV have been constructed which encode the capsid precursor (P1-2A) alone or with the proteases L and 3C which are required for processing of this precursor to the products 1 AB, 1 C, and 1 D. These cassettes have been analyzed using in vitro transcription and translation reactions and within cells using recombinant vaccinia viruses. Processing of the precursors occurred more efficiently in cells than in cell-free systems but similar properties were observed. It was not possible to isolate recombinant vaccinia viruses containing FMDV cassettes which included the intact coding sequence for the L protein. Deletion of part of the L sequence, which abolished its proteolytic activity, also abolished this incompatibility with vaccinia virus. The vaccinia recombinant, vTF7-3, which expresses the bacteriophage T7 RNA polymerase was used in transient expression studies using plasmids containing a T7 promoter upstream of the FMDV cassettes. Under these conditions it was possible to coexpress L, P1-2A, and 3C in the vaccinia-infected cells; each of the proteolytic activities was observed and correctly processed 1AB, 1C, and 1D were produced.</p

Virus taxonomy in the age of metagenomics

The number and diversity of viral sequences that are identified in metagenomic data far exceeds that of experimentally characterized virus isolates. In a recent workshop, a panel of experts discussed the proposal that, with appropriate quality control, viruses that are known only from metagenomic data can, and should be, incorporated into the official classification scheme of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV). Although a taxonomy that is based on metagenomic sequence data alone represents a substantial departure from the traditional reliance on phenotypic properties, the development of a robust framework for sequence-based virus taxonomy is indispensable for the comprehensive characterization of the global virome. In this Consensus Statement article, we consider the rationale for why metagenomic sequence data should, and how it can, be incorporated into the ICTV taxonomy, and present proposals that have been endorsed by the Executive Committee of the ICTV

Changes to taxonomy and the International Code of Virus Classification and Nomenclature ratified by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (2017)

This article lists the changes to virus taxonomy approved and ratified by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) in March 2017

Consensus statement: Virus taxonomy in the age of metagenomics

Comment in:A sea change for virology. [Nat Rev Microbiol. 2017]International audienceThe number and diversity of viral sequences that are identified in metagenomic data far exceeds that of experimentally characterized virus isolates. In a recent workshop, a panel of experts discussed the proposal that, with appropriate quality control, viruses that are known only from metagenomic data can, and should be, incorporated into the official classification scheme of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV). Although a taxonomy that is based on metagenomic sequence data alone represents a substantial departure from the traditional reliance on phenotypic properties, the development of a robust framework for sequence-based virus taxonomy is indispensable for the comprehensive characterization of the global virome. In this Consensus Statement article, we consider the rationale for why metagenomic sequence data should, and how it can, be incorporated into the ICTV taxonomy, and present proposals that have been endorsed by the Executive Committee of the ICTV