Virus nomenclature: consensus versus chaos
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Arch Virol 145/10 (2000)
Virology Division News
Virus nomenclature: consensus versus chaos M. H. V. van Regenmortel1, M. A. Mayo2, C. M. Fauquet3, and J. Maniloff4 1 IBMC, Strasbourg, France Scottish Crop Research Institute, Dundee, U.K. 3 ILTAB/Danforth Plant Science Center, University of Missouri, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A. 4 Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Rochester, New York, U.S.A. 2
Introduction A recent, highly polemical contribution to these columns [10] criticized the workings of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) and suggested that the new Rules about the orthography of virus species names approved by ICTV were leading virus nomenclature into chaos. References to receding or impending chaos are frequently made by those who approve [6, 7] or disapprove [10] of the work done by the ICTV on behalf of the world community of virologists. In his one-sided and unbalanced diatribe against the work of the ICTV, Gibbs [10] raises several issues that need to be answered. We have gauged the opinions of the ICTV Executive Committee and of the ICTV Life Members regarding the various criticisms levelled by Gibbs and summarize the responses below. Several of the respondents deplored the derogatory tone used by Gibbs to refer to the activities of the ICTV, an organization of which he is a Life Member, and stated that they regard the ICTV as a valuable international body which, in spite of certain organizational concerns, has served virologists well. 1. ICTV has disobeyed its own Rules Gibbs claims that the ICTV breaks Rule 3.9 of its International Code of Virus Classification and Nomenclature [16], which states that “Existing names of taxa and viruses shall be retained wherever feasible”. In 1998, the ICTV did indeed amend Rules 36 and 37 of its Code [14], which had stated that species names were not to be italicized and not capitalized, and introduced the new rule 3.40 [16], which states that “Species names are printed in italics and have the first letter of the first word capitalized”. Gibbs does not like this new Rule and he attacks the ICTV for having introduced it. He not only misrepresents the way in which the change was implemented but also muddles up the very nature of the change. He maintains that the decision to introduce the new Rule was made by the ICTV Executive Committee (EC) in “a rush at the very end of a meeting with the airport taxis waiting outside”. In actual fact, the EC debated the issue at great length and did so in the middle of the day, with no taxis in sight! The EC took the view that since the
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Virology Division News
names of all virus taxa (genera, families etc), are capitalized and printed in italics, the same typography should be used for the names of species taxa officially recognized by ICTV. After voting in favour of the change, the EC subsequently had the new Rule ratified by the full membership of the ICTV [16, 20]. It is rather disingenuous for Gibbs to claim that ICTV is breaking its Rules: ICTV does not break Rules but amends
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