Rhabdoviridae

Rhabdoviruses are viruses belonging to the family Rhabdoviridae, which is in the order Mononegavirales. Rhabdoviruses infect a broad range of hosts throughout the animal and plant kingdom. Animal rhabdoviruses infect insects, fish, and mammals, including humans.

The Viruses

Rhabdoviruses carry their genetic material in the form of negative-sense single-stranded RNA. They typically carry genes for five proteins: large protein (L), glycoprotein (G), nucleoprotein (N), nonstructural protein (NS), and matrix protein (M). Rhabdoviruses that infect vertebrates are bullet-shaped.

The following genera are included here:

• Genus Cytorhabdovirus; type species: Lettuce necrotic yellows virus
• Genus Ephemerovirus; type species: Bovine ephemeral fever virus
• Genus Lyssavirus; type species: Rabies virus
• Genus Novirhabdovirus; type species: Infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus
• Genus Nucleorhabdovirus; type species: Potato yellow dwarf virus
• Genus Vesiculovirus; type species: Vesicular stomatitis Indiana virus

Prototypical Rhabdoviruses

The prototypical and best studied rhabdovirus is vesicular stomatitis virus. Since it is harmless to humans and easy to grow in the laboratory, it is a preferred model system to study the biology of Rhabdoviruses, and Mononegavirales in general.

The mammalian disease Rabies is caused by Lyssavirus, of which several strains have been identified.

Further reading

• J.K. Rose and M.A. Whitt (2001). Rhabdoviridae: The viruses and their replication. In: D.M. Knipe and P.M. Howley, ed., Field's Virology, vol. 1, pp. 1221–1244. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia, 4th edition.
• R.R. Wagner, ed. (1987). The Rhabdoviruses. Plenum Press, New York.