Nyamiviridae

Nyamiviridae is a family of viruses in the order Mononegavirales. Birds, ticks, and nematodes serve as natural hosts. There are currently four species in this family, divided among two genera.^[1]

Taxonomy

Table legend: "*" denotes type species.

History

NYMV and MDWV were first isolated in 1957 and 1966 respectively. NYMV has been isolated from cattle egrets (species Bubulcus ibis) and ticks (species Argas walkerae) in Egypt, India, Nigeria, South Africa, and Thailand. MDWV has been isolated from tick of the genus Ornithodoros collected in Midway, Kure and Manana islands and northern Honshu, Japan. Antibodies to this virus have been found in the black-tailed gulls (species Larus crassirostris) and black-crowned night herons (species Nycticorax nycticorax).

Structure

Nyamivirions are enveloped, with spherical geometries. Their diameters are around 100 to 130 nm. Nyamiviral genomes are linear, around 11.6 kb in length. The nyamiviral genome codes for six proteins.^[3] Of these, only two have been assigned a function: the putative nucleocapsid protein and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase.

Life Cycle

Viral replication is nuclear. Entry into the host cell is achieved by attachment of the viral GP glycoproteins to host receptors, which mediates clathrin-mediated endocytosis. Replication follows the negative stranded RNA virus replication model. Negative stranded RNA virus transcription, using polymerase stuttering is the method of transcription. Ticks and birds serve as the natural host.^[3]

References

External links

• Viralzone: Nyamiviridae
• ICTV