Bacteriophage taxonomy: A continually evolving discipline

Turner, Dann; Adriaenssens, Evelien M; Adriaenssens, Evelien M.; Lehman, Susan M; Lehman, Susan M.; Moraru, Cristina; Kropinski, Andrew M; Kropinski, Andrew M.

Abstract

While taxonomy is an often underappreciated branch of science, it serves very important roles. Bacteriophage taxonomy has evolved from a discipline based mainly on morphology, characterized by the work of David Bradley and Hans-Wolfgang Ackermann, to the sequence-based approach that is taken today. The Bacterial Viruses Subcommittee of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) takes a holistic approach to classifying prokaryote viruses by measuring overall DNA and protein similarity and phylogeny before making decisions about the taxonomic position of a new virus. The huge number of complete genomes being deposited with the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) and other public databases has resulted in a reassessment of the taxonomy of many viruses, and the future will see the introduction of new viral families and higher orders. [Abstract copyright: © 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.]

• Online Publication Date: Dec 8, 2023
• Publication Date: Dec 9, 2023
• Deposit Date: Dec 13, 2023
• Publisher: Humana Press
• Pages: 27-45
• Series Title: Methods in Molecular Biology
• Series Number: 2734
• Series ISSN: 1940-6029
• Book Title: Bacteriophage Therapy: From Lab to Clinical Practice
• ISBN: 9781071635223
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-3523-0_3
• Keywords: ICTV, Humans, Forecasting, Databases, Factual, DNA sequence homology, Phylogeny, Morphology, Viruses - genetics, Bacteriophages - genetics, Taxonomy, NCBI, Genome, Viral
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/11515234
• Additional Information: First Online: 9 December 2023
• Contract Date: Oct 11, 2023