The taxonomy of herpesviruses has been updated by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV). The former family Herpesviridae has been split into three families, which have been incorporated into the new order Herpesvirales. The revised family Herpesviridae retains the mammal, bird and reptile viruses, the new family Alloherpesviridae incorporates the fish and frog viruses, and the new family Malacoherpesviridae contains a bivalve virus. Three new genera have been created in the family Herpesviridae, namely Proboscivirus in the subfamily Betaherpesvirinae and Macavirus and Percavirus in the subfamily Gammaherpesvirinae. These genera have been formed by the transfer of species from established genera and the erection of new species, and other new species have been added to some of the established genera. In addition, the names of some nonhuman primate virus species have been changed. The family Alloherpesviridae has been populated by transfer of the genus Ictalurivirus and addition of the new species Cyprinid herpesvirus 3. The family Malacoherpesviridae incorporates the new genus Ostreavirus containing the new species Ostreid herpesvirus 1.

We identified a novel human polyomavirus from a kidney transplant patient under immunosuppressive treatment, by use of a generic PCR. The genome of the virus was completely amplified and sequenced. In phylogenetic analyses, it appeared as the closest relative to the African green monkey-derived lymphotropic polyomavirus (LPV). Further investigation of clinical samples from immunocompromised patients with specific nested PCR revealed additional positive samples, indicating that the virus naturally infects humans. The virus was tentatively named human polyomavirus 9 (HPyV9). The previously observed seroreactivity to LPV in human populations might find a partial explanation in the circulation of HPyV9.

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Novel members of the subfamily Gammaherpesvirinae, hosted by eight mammalian species from six orders (Primates, Artiodactyla, Perissodactyla, Carnivora, Scandentia, and Eulipotyphla), were discovered using PCR with pan-herpesvirus DNA polymerase (DPOL) gene primers and genus-specific glycoprotein B (gB) gene primers. The gB and DPOL sequences of each virus species were connected by long-distance PCR, and contiguous sequences of approximately 3.4 kbp were compiled. Six additional gammaherpesviruses from four mammalian host orders (Artiodactyla, Perissodactyla, Primates, and Proboscidea), for which only short DPOL sequences were known, were analyzed in the same manner. Together with available corresponding sequences for 31 other gammaherpesviruses, alignments of encoded amino acid sequences were made and used for phylogenetic analyses by maximum-likelihood and Bayesian Monte Carlo Markov chain methods to derive a tree which contained two major loci of unresolved branching details. The tree was rooted by parallel analyses that included alpha-and betaherpesvirus sequences. This gammaherpesvirus tree contains 11 major lineages and presents the widest view to date of phylogenetic relationships in any subfamily of the Herpesviridae, as well as the most complex in the number of deep lineages. The tree's branching pattern can be interpreted only in part in terms of the cospeciation of virus and host lineages, and a substantial incidence of the interspecies transfer of viruses must also be invoked.PCR assays with degenerate primers have been used for over a decade for the amplification of unknown herpesvirus DNA polymerase (DPOL) gene sequences. These methods have the potential to detect virtually every mammalian, avian, or reptilian herpesvirus (7, 31). In fact, more than 100 novel herpesviruses have been discovered with the help of such universal PCR methods (4, 5, 8-11, 14, 17, 19, 27, 28, 33), and new phylogenetic herpesvirus lineages within the Alphaherpesvirinae, Betaherpesvirinae, and Gammaherpesvirinae subfamilies of the Herpesviridae have emerged (21-24). In addition, previous studies with great apes revealed evidence for two lymphocryptovirus (LCV) lineages and two rhadinovirus (RHV) lineages in the Lymphocryptovirus and Rhadinovirus genera of the Gammaherpesvirinae, leading to speculations that a second human LCV related to EpsteinBarr virus (9) and a second human RHV related to human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) (14) may exist.Despite the tremendous accumulation of knowledge on the existence of hitherto unknown herpesviruses, only limited sequence information (i.e., a few hundred base pairs) became available in most of the cases. This information is sufficient to assess whether a virus is already known or novel and allows for assignment to a herpesvirus subfamily. However, a more precise phylogenetic analysis is often not possible, and more extensive sequence data are therefore desirable.In the present study, we wanted to further extend insight into gammaherpesvirus (GHV) evolution by analyzing mammalian hosts from d...

Polyomaviruses are small, non-enveloped viruses with a circular double-stranded DNA genome. Using a generic polyomavirus PCR targeting the VP1 major structural protein gene, a novel polyomavirus was initially identified in resected human liver tissue and provisionally named Human Polyomavirus 12 (HPyV12). Its 5033 bp genome is predicted to encode large and small T antigens and the 3 structural proteins VP1, VP2 and VP3. Phylogenetic analyses did not reveal a close relationship to any known human or animal polyomavirus. Investigation of organs, body fluids and excretions of diseased individuals and healthy subjects with both HPyV12-specific nested PCR and quantitative real-time PCR revealed additional virus-positive samples of resected liver, cecum and rectum tissues and a positive fecal sample. A capsomer-based IgG ELISA was established using the major capsid protein VP1 of HPyV12. Seroprevalences of 23% and 17%, respectively, were determined in sera from healthy adults and adolescents and a pediatric group of children. These data indicate that the virus naturally infects humans and that primary infection may already occur in childhood.