Bunyaviridae

Abstract

The family Bunyaviridae comprises over 200 viruses (serotypes, subtypes, and varieties) that infect vertebrates and/or invertebrates. Four genera of viruses have been defined (Bunyavirus, Nairovirus, Phlebovirus, and Uukuvirus). The main characteristics of the member viruses are: (i) the virus particles are for the most part uniformly spherical, 80–110 nm in diameter, and possess a unit membrane envelope from which protrude polypeptide spikes 5–10 nm long; (ii) the viruses have three helical nucleocapsids, often in the form of supercoiled circles, each consisting of a single species of single-stranded RNA, a major nucleocapsid polypeptide, N, and at least in some cases minor amounts of a large polypeptide which may be a transcriptase component; (iii) the genome is composed of three species of RNA (L, large; M, medium; and S, small), organized in end-hydrogen bonded circular structures; (iv) most viruses have three major virion polypeptides (N, and two surface polypeptides, designated Gl and G2); (v) for at least some member viruses, the virions have been shown to contain an RNA-directed RNA polymerase, believed to be responsible for the synthesis of viral complementary mRNA, so that bunyaviruses are considered to be negative-stranded viruses; (vi) at least some bunyaviruses are capable of heterologous virus genome segment reassortment and can form recombinant viruses at high or low frequency; (vii) viruses appear to mature primarily at smooth membrane surfaces and accumulate in Golgi vesicles and saccules, or nearby; (viii) transovarial, venereal and/or transstadial transmission in arthropods has been shown to occur for some members of the family.

Biochemical and Serological Comparisons of Australian Bunyaviruses Belonging to the Simbu Serogroup

“…Thus, the tentative classification of a new isolate could be made by comparison of its virus-specified proteins with known serotypes and confirmed by serology and analysis of the RNA. The protein and migration patterns were similar to those of BUN virus, the prototype of the Bunyavirus genus, and support serological data for the inclusion of the Simbu serogroup in this genus, rather than one of the other four genera (Bishop et al, 1980;Bishop, 1986).…”

“…The Bunyaviridae family of arthropod-borne viruses comprises four genera (Bunyavirus, Nairovirus, Phlebovirus, Uukuvirus), and possibly a fifth genus (Hantavirus), as well as several unassigned members (Bishop et al, 1980;Bishop, 1986). Viruses have been assigned to individual genera primarily on serological and morphological criteria; more recently these assignments have been substantiated by biochemical analyses.…”

Characterization of Leanyer Virus: Resemblance to Bunyavirus

“…Analyses of other possible members of the Bunyaviridae that were also originally isolated in Australia have shown that they are either (a) clearly bunyaviruses, e.g., viruses within the Sinibu serogroup (McPhee and Deila-Porta, 1981), or (b) closely resemble bunyaviruses, e.g., Mapputta, Kowanyama (McPhee, personal communication) and Belmont viruses (McPhee and Westaway, 1981a). Because of the medical and veterinary importance of many tnembers of the Bunya-viridae (Bishop and Shope, 1979), al! new bunyavirus isolates are of interest.…”

Abbreviations and acronyms

“…Most arboviruses fulfil the criteria laid down in this definition, but the group is very heterogeneous, containing viruses which, because they have not been fully classified on morphological or physicochemical grounds, are included among the arboviruses for convenience. There are currently 490 known arboviruses and this very large group contains representatives from several different viral families, the most important of which are the families Togaviridae, Flaviviridae, Bunyaviridae, Reoviridae and Rhabdoviridae (Bishop et al, 1980;Rehle, 1989).…”