Classification of Viruses

Classification of Viruses

Because viruses do not fit neatly into the schemes used to classify cellular organisms, a dedicated body called the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) was set up to standardise how viruses are identified, named and classified. Under ICTV conventions, viruses are grouped using criteria that are quite different from those used for bacteria or eukaryotes - most importantly, the type of nucleic acid a virus carries (DNA or RNA, and whether it is single- or double-stranded), the shape and arrangement of its protein coat, whether or not it has an outer lipid envelope, and the type of host it infects (plant, animal, bacterium, and so on). …