Taxonomy, Classification and Nomenclature of Viruses

Virus taxonomy is a man-made field of science aiming at helping the classification of viral entities and at using the same nomenclature for the description of these entities in their biological and physical properties. Taxonomy at the interface of conceptual and physical matters is by essence very controversial, but it is important for many purposes from virus diagnostics to virus evolution. Virus taxonomy, which officially began in 1966 under the activity of 43 virologists who created the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV), has made tremendous progress in the last 40 years to classify today about 6000 virus entities into more than 2000 species, themselves classified into 287 genera, 73 families, and 3 orders, as attested by the Eighth Report of the ICTV. Virus nomenclature has also progressed in parallel to virus taxonomy, and although virologists still debate about the best way to write virus species names, undoubtedly virus taxonomy and nomenclature are now in a very advanced state. However, major challenges are ahead for virologists with the exponential increase in virus genome sequencing which will be beyond 1 million sequences by 2010 and the virologists have to face that challenge with organization and creativity, in order to offer to the virological community the best and most useful virus taxonomy and nomenclature.