Virus classification
Virus Classification
Virus classification (pronunciation: /ˈvaɪrəs klæsɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/) is the process of naming viruses and placing them into a taxonomic system. This is done based on their biological properties, such as their morphology, nucleic acid type, mode of replication, host organisms, and the type of disease they cause.
Etymology
The term "virus" (pronunciation: /ˈvaɪrəs/) comes from the Latin word for poison or venom. The term "classification" (pronunciation: /klæsɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/) comes from the Latin word "classis", which means a group or class, and the suffix "-fication", which means the act of making or doing.
History
The history of virology has seen various systems of virus classification. The current system, the Baltimore classification, was first proposed by Nobel laureate David Baltimore in 1971.
Baltimore Classification
The Baltimore classification system is a scheme for classifying viruses based on the type of nucleic acid they use as genetic material and the method of replication. There are seven groups in this system:
- Double-stranded DNA viruses
- Single-stranded DNA viruses
- Double-stranded RNA viruses
- Single-stranded RNA viruses
- Positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses
- Negative-sense single-stranded RNA viruses
- Reverse transcribing viruses
ICTV Classification
The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) also classifies viruses, but based on their morphology, nucleic acid type, mode of replication, host organisms, and the type of disease they cause. The ICTV classification system has been adopted by the majority of researchers in the field of virology.
Related Terms
- Virology: The study of viruses and virus-like agents.
- Pathogen: A biological agent that causes disease or illness.
- Taxonomy: The science of classification, in biology the arrangement of organisms into a classification.
- Nucleic acid: A complex organic substance present in living cells, especially DNA or RNA, whose molecules consist of many nucleotides linked in a long chain.
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Virus classification
- Wikipedia's article - Virus classification
This WikiMD dictionary article is a stub. You can help make it a full article.
Languages: - East Asian
中文,
日本,
한국어,
South Asian
हिन्दी,
Urdu,
বাংলা,
తెలుగు,
தமிழ்,
ಕನ್ನಡ,
Southeast Asian
Indonesian,
Vietnamese,
Thai,
မြန်မာဘာသာ,
European
español,
Deutsch,
français,
русский,
português do Brasil,
Italian,
polski