Perspective on taxonomic classification of uncultivated viruses

Bas E Dutilh (1, 2) , Arvind Varsani (3, 4) , Yigang Tong (5) , Peter Simmonds (6) , Sead Sabanadzovic (7) , Luisa Rubino (8) , Simon Roux (9) , Alejandro Reyes Muñoz (10) , Cédric Lood (11) , Elliot J Lefkowitz (12) , Jens H Kuhn (13) , Mart Krupovic (14) , Robert A Edwards (15) , J Rodney Brister (16) , Evelien M Adriaenssens (17) , Matthew B Sullivan (18)

1 Utrecht University [Utrecht]
2 Friedrich-Schiller-Universität = Friedrich Schiller University Jena [Jena, Germany]
3 ASU - Arizona State University [Tempe]
4 University of Cape Town
5 Beijing University of Chemical Technology
6 University of Oxford
7 Mississippi State University [Mississippi]
8 IPSP - Istituto per la Protezione Sostenibile delle Piante [Torino, Italia]
9 LBNL - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory [Berkeley]
10 UNIANDES - Universidad de los Andes [Bogota]
11 KU Leuven - Catholic University of Leuven - Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
12 UAB - University of Alabama at Birmingham [ Birmingham]
13 NIAID-NIH - National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases [Bethesda]
14 Virologie des archées - Archaeal Virology
15 Flinders University [Adelaide, Australia]
16 NLM - National Library of Medicine
17 QIB - Quadram Institute Bioscience [Norwich, U.K.]
18 OSU - Ohio State University [Columbus]

Historically, virus taxonomy has been limited to describing viruses that were readily cultivated in the laboratory or emerging in natural biomes. Metagenomic analyses, single-particle sequencing, and database mining efforts have yielded new sequence data on an astounding number of previously unknown viruses. As metagenomes are relatively free of biases, these data provide an unprecedented insight into the vastness of the virosphere, but to properly value the extent of this diversity it is critical that the viruses are taxonomically classified. Inclusion of uncultivated viruses has already improved the process as well as the understanding of the taxa, viruses, and their evolutionary relationships. The continuous development and testing of computational tools will be required to maintain a dynamic virus taxonomy that can accommodate the new discoveries.

Domains: Life Sciences [q-bio]; Microbiology and Parasitology; Virology

Bas E Dutilh, Arvind Varsani, Yigang Tong, Peter Simmonds, Sead Sabanadzovic, et al.. Perspective on taxonomic classification of uncultivated viruses. Current Opinion in Virology, 2021, 51, pp.207-215. ⟨10.1016/j.coviro.2021.10.011⟩. ⟨pasteur-03462347⟩