27.

1 Characteristics of Some Virus Families 
 
Double‐Stranded DNA Viruses 
Family (Order if  Nature of  Morphology  Envelope  Host(s)1  Comments 
assigned to one)  Genome 
Myoviridae 1 linear Icosahedral head No B, Ar Includes bacteriophage T4
(Caudovirales) with tail
Siphoviridae 1 linear Icosahedral head No B, Ar Includes bacteriophage lambda
(Caudovirales) with tail
Herpesviridae 1 linear Spherical with Yes V Includes viruses that cause cold sores, genital
(Herpesvirales) icosahedral capsid herpes, chickenpox, cytomegalovirus inclusion
disease
Adenoviridae 1 linear Icosahedral No V Includes viruses that cause respiratory infections
and gastroenteritis
Ampullaviridae 1 linear Bottle-shaped Yes Ar
Bicaudaviridae 1 circular Lemon-shaped with Yes Ar Includes four genera
two tails
Fuselloviridae 1 circular Lemon-shaped Yes Ar
Guttaviridae 1 circular Droplet-shaped Yes Ar
Iridoviridae 1 linear Spherical with +/– V, I
icosahedral capsid
Lipothrixviridae 1 linear Filamentous Yes Ar
Mimiviridae 1 linear Pseudo-icosahedral No Pr Includes mimiviruses and other “giruses” having
capsid exceptionally large genomes and virions; genomes
encode proteins not usually encoded by viral
genomes
Papillomaviridae 1 circular Icosahedral No V Includes viruses that cause warts and genital warts
associated with some cancers
Phycodnaviridae 1 linear Icosahedral No Al Includes nucleocytoplasmic DNA viruses
Poxviridae 1 linear Pleomorphic Yes V, I Includes viruses that cause smallpox and cowpox
Rudiviridae 1 linear Rod-shaped No Ar
   
Single‐Stranded DNA Viruses 
Geminiviridae 1 or 2 circular Icosahedral No P Includes pathogens of agriculturally important
plants (e.g., beets, peppers, tomatoes)
Inoviridae 1 circular Filamentous or rod- No B Includes CTXφ, M13, fd, and Pf1
shaped
Microviridae 1 circular Icosahedral No B Includes φX174
Parvoviridae 1 linear Icosahedral No V, I Includes erythroviruses (e.g., human parvovirus
B19)
Double‐Stranded RNA Viruses 
Cystoviridae 3 linear Spherical Yes B Includes φ6
Reoviridae 9 to 12 linear Icosahedral No F, I, P, V, Pr Includes rotaviruses and pathogens of
agriculturally important plants
Minus‐Strand RNA Viruses 
Filoviridae 1 linear Rod-shaped or Yes V Includes ebolaviruses
(Mononegavirales) filamentous
Paramyxoviridae 1 linear Spherical, Yes V Includes mumps, measles, and respiratory
(Mononegavirales) filamentous, or syncitial viruses
pleomorphic
Rhabdoviridae 1 linear Bullet-shaped or Yes V, I, P Includes rabies viruses
(Mononegavirales) rod-shaped
Orthomyxoviridae 6 to 8 linear Spherical, Yes V, I Includes influenza viruses
filamentous, or
pleomorphic
Bunyaviridae 3 linear Spherical Yes V, I, P Includes hantaviruses
Plus‐Strand RNA Viruses 
Coronaviridae 1 linear Spherical or rod- Yes V Includes severe acute respiratory syndrome
(Nidovirales) shaped (SARS) viruses
Picornaviridae 1 linear Icosahedral No V Includes polioviruses, rhinoviruses, and hepatitis
(Picornavirales) A viruses
Alphaflexiviridae 1 linear Filamentous No P, F Includes numerous pathogens of agriculturally
(Tymovirales) important plants (e.g., citrus, strawberries)
Calciviridae 1 linear Icosahedral No V Includes noroviruses
Flaviviridae 1 linear Spherical Yes V, I Includes hepatitis C, yellow fever, dengue, and
West Nile viruses
Hepeviridae 1 linear Icosahedral No V Includes hepatitis D viruses
Togaviridae 1 linear Spherical Yes V, I Includes rubella viruses
Virgaviridae 1 to 3 linear Rod-shaped No P Includes tobacco mosaic viruses
   
Reverse‐Transcribing Viruses 
Caulimoviridae 1 circular, non- Icosahedral or rod- No P Includes pathogen of agriculturally important
covalently shaped plants
closed dsDNA
Hepadnaviridae 1 cirucular, Spherical Yes V Includes Hepatitis B virus
non-covalently
closed gapped
dsDNA
Retroviridae Dimer of linear Spherical Yes V Includes human immunodeficiency viruses
ssRNA
1. Abbreviations for hosts are: Al, algae; Ar, archaea; B, bacteria; F, Fungi; I, insects; P, plants; Pr, protozoa; V, vertebrates