''Betairidovirinae'' is a subfamily of viruses in the family ''
Iridoviridae
''Iridoviridae'' is a family of viruses with double-stranded DNA genomes. Amphibians, fish, and invertebrates such as arthropods serve as natural hosts. There are currently 22 species in this family, divided among two subfamilies and seven gener ...
'' that was established in 2016. It is one of two subfamilies within this family, the other being ''
Alphairdovirinae''.
Most species within the ''Betairidovirinae'' are hosted by invertebrates, whereas all species within the ''Alphairdovirinae'' are hosted by '
cold-blooded' vertebrates (namely; fishes, amphibians, and reptiles). As such, viruses in this subfamily may be called invertebrate iridescent viruses (IIVs) or invertebrate iridoviruses.
Genera
The genus consists of the following four genera,
although many additional putative and partially characterised taxa are known:
* ''
Chloriridovirus
''Chloriridovirus'' is a genus of viruses, in the family ''Iridoviridae''. Diptera with aquatic larval stage, mainly mosquitoes, lepidoptera, and orthoptera insects serve as natural hosts. There are five species in this genus. Diseases associ ...
''
* ''
Daphniairidovirus''
* ''
Decapodiridovirus''
* ''
Iridovirus
''Iridovirus'' is a genus of viruses in the family '' Iridoviridae''. Insects serve as natural hosts. Currently, only two species are placed in this genus. ''Invertebrate iridescent virus 6'' (IIV-6) was recognised as the type species until su ...
''
Hosts
The ''Betairidovirinae'' are hosted by invertebrates, but some research indicates they may hosted by vertebrates, and that at least one invertebrate-hosted iridovirus is actually more closely related to the ''Alphairdovirinae''. Most ''Betairidovirinae'' hosts are
arthropod
Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...
s, especially insects and
woodlice
A woodlouse (plural woodlice) is an isopod crustacean from the polyphyleticThe current consensus is that Oniscidea is actually triphyletic suborder Oniscidea within the order Isopoda. They get their name from often being found in old wood. ...
, but other arthropods and even several non-arthropod hosts are known. Some viruses are hosted by a single host species; others are generalists that can infect multiple species.
Disease
Some species within this subfamily cause no externally obvious disease. Others cause a generalised reduction in fitness. Invertebrate iridoviral diseases are most noted for some species that cause iridescence in their hosts because
icosahedral
In geometry, an icosahedron ( or ) is a polyhedron with 20 faces. The name comes and . The plural can be either "icosahedra" () or "icosahedrons".
There are infinitely many non- similar shapes of icosahedra, some of them being more symmetrica ...
virions may accumulate in high density in the tissues of the host, forming a
paracrystalline
In materials science, paracrystalline materials are defined as having short- and medium-range ordering in their lattice (similar to the liquid crystal phases) but lacking crystal-like long-range ordering at least in one direction.
Origin and d ...
array that reflects particular wavelengths of light. Iridescent blue is most common, but colours across the spectrum have been observed. Most species with smaller virions produce colours towards the violet side of the colour spectrum, whereas larger virions tend towards the red side.
See also
* ''
Cypovirus
''Cypovirus'', short for cytoplasmic polyhedrosis virus, is a genus of double-stranded RNA viruses in the family ''Reoviridae'' and subfamily ''Spinareovirinae''. Cypoviruses have only been isolated from insects. Diseases associated with this ge ...
'' – members of this genus may also cause iridescence
References
External links
iNaturalist– ''Betairidovirinae''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q29002081
Iridoviridae
Virus subfamilies