Recognizing species as a new focus of virus research

Alexander E Gorbalenya; Stuart G Siddell

doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1009318

Recognizing species as a new focus of virus research

PLoS Pathog. 2021 Mar 4;17(3):e1009318. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009318. eCollection 2021 Mar.

Authors

Alexander E Gorbalenya^{1

2}, Stuart G Siddell³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medical Microbiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands.
² Faculty of Bioengineering and Bioinformatics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia.
³ School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom.

Abstract

Species taxa are the units of taxonomy most suited to measure virus diversity, and they account for more than 70% of all virus taxa. Yet, as evidenced by the content of GenBank entries and illustrated by the recent literature on SARS-CoV-2, they are the most neglected taxa of virus research. To correct this disparity, we propose to make species taxa a first choice for communicating virus taxonomy in publications concerning viruses. We see it as a key step toward promoting research on diverse viruses, including pathogens, at this fundamental level of biology.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Classification*
SARS-CoV-2
Terminology as Topic*
Virology
Viruses / classification*

Grants and funding

Work of Alexander E. Gorbalenya was partially supported by the Leiden University Fund. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.