Abstract
The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) Filoviridae Study Group continues to prospectively refine the established nomenclature for taxa included in family Filoviridae in an effort to decrease confusion of genus, species, and virus names and to adhere to amended stipulations of the International Code of Virus Classification and Nomenclature (ICVCN). Recently, the genus names Ebolavirus and Marburgvirus were changed to Orthoebolavirus and Orthomarburgvirus, respectively. Additionally, all established species names in family Filoviridae now adhere to the ICTV-mandated binomial format. Virus names remain unchanged and valid. Here, we outline the revised taxonomy of family Filoviridae as approved by the ICTV in April 2023.
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Introduction
Family Filoviridae currently encompasses eight genera and 15 species for 16 viruses [2]. In recent years, nomenclatural confusion became apparent regarding two of these genera, Ebolavirus and Marburgvirus. The vernacular terms “ebolaviral”, “ebolavirus”, and “ebolaviruses” (referring to the collective members of genus Ebolavirus) were frequently confused with the name of a particular member of that genus, i.e., Ebola virus. Similarly, the terms “marburgviral”, “marburgvirus”, and “marburgviruses” were frequently confused with the name of a particular member of genus Marburgvirus, i.e., Marburg virus.
Changes to virus taxonomy
In 2022, a taxonomic proposal (TaxoProp 2022.009M.A.Filoviridae_2genrenamed) was submitted to the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) [13] to remove the ambiguity associated with the vernacular terms by renaming genera Ebolavirus and Marburgvirus to Orthoebolavirus and Orthomarburgvirus, respectively. This proposal was approved by the ICTV Executive Committee in late 2022 and ratified by the ICTV in April 2023 [3, 11, 17]. Consequently, the terms “orthoebolaviral”, “orthoebolavirus”, and “orthoebolaviruses” and “orthomarburgviral”, “orthomarburgvirus”, and “orthomarburgviruses” now refer to the collective viruses assigned to genera Orthoebolavirus and Orthomarburgvirus, respectively. Bombali virus, Bundibugyo virus, Ebola virus, Reston virus, Sudan virus, and Taï Forest virus are orthoebolaviruses; likewise, Marburg virus and Ravn virus are orthomarburgviruses. Differentiation of these terms provides clarity; for example, the currently licensed vaccines to prevent Ebola virus disease are only efficacious against Ebola virus, not against other orthoebolaviruses [14].
In March 2021, the ICTV ratified TaxoProp 2018.001G.R.binomial_species, which requires all species names to follow a new codified rule:
"A species name shall consist of only two distinct word components separated by a space. The first word component shall begin with a capital letter and be identical in spelling to the name of the genus to which the species belongs. The second word component shall not contain any suffixes specific for taxa of higher ranks. The entire species name (both word components) shall be italicized" [4, 15].
The purpose of this rule was to differentiate more clearly the name of a virus from the name of the species to which it is assigned, using the familiar genus + species epithet format found elsewhere in biological taxonomy nomenclature [16]. This rule required most of the then-established filoviral species names to be changed, providing an opportunity to bring an end to another confusion in the literature (i.e., the incorrect use of a now-outdated species name, Zaire ebolavirus, as a virus name [instead of the correct Ebola virus] and the incorrect use of “ZEBOV” as the virus abbreviation [instead of the correct EBOV]. New species names were proposed according to guidance outlined by Postler et al. [12] in a taxonomic proposal submitted by the ICTV Filoviridae Study Group to the ICTV in 2021 (TaxoProp 2021.012M.A.Filoviridae_sprenamed.docx). This proposal was approved by the ICTV Executive Committee in late 2022 and accepted/ratified by the ICTV in April 2023 [3, 11, 17]. Table 1 lists the current taxonomy of family Filoviridae with the outdated species names as a reference; Table 2 provides practical guidance on how to apply the updated nomenclature in manuscripts.
Conclusion
As with renaming proposals elsewhere in virus taxonomy, it should be stressed that changes to the names of species have no influence on the names of their viruses, which remain unchanged.
We hope this description of the modifications and replacements of genus and species names is of value with respect to the reasons for the nomenclature changes and that it may serve a useful reference guide for those working in the field. The ICTV Report chapter Filoviridae has been updated with the new genus and species names along with other recent taxonomic changes in the family [10].
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Acknowledgments
We thank Anya Crane (NIH NIAID DCR IRF-Frederick) for critically editing the manuscript.
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This work was supported in part through Laulima Government Solutions, LLC, prime Contract No. HHSN272201800013C with the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). J.H.K. performed this work as an employee of Tunnell Government Services (TGS), a subcontractor of Laulima Government Solutions, LLC, under Contract No. HHSN272201800013C. This work was also funded in part by Contract No. HSHQDC-15-C-00064, awarded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) for the management and operation of The National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center, a federally funded research and development center operated by the Battelle National Biodefense Institute (V.W.). The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the U.S. Department of the Army, the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T), or of the institutions and companies affiliated with the authors. In no event shall any of these entities have any responsibility or liability for any use, misuse, inability to use, or reliance upon the information contained herein. The U.S. departments do not endorse any products or commercial services mentioned in this publication. The U.S. Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the U.S. Government retains a non-exclusive, paid up, irrevocable, world-wide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for U.S. Government purposes.
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Biedenkopf, N., Bukreyev, A., Chandran, K. et al. Renaming of genera Ebolavirus and Marburgvirus to Orthoebolavirus and Orthomarburgvirus, respectively, and introduction of binomial species names within family Filoviridae. Arch Virol 168, 220 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-023-05834-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-023-05834-2