The 8th Report of International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) contains a rational, satisfying and useful taxonomic structure of viruses infecting vertebrates, invertebrates, fungi, protozoa, algae, bacteria, archea, mycoplasma, and plants. It facilitates communication among virologists around the world and enriches our understanding of virus biology. Data presented in this article concern taxonomy of viruses infecting vertebrates.
The article presents the current state of knowledge on the taxonomy of the genus Lyssavirus. Viruses belonging to Rhabdoviridae family cause acute encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) which almost irrevocably results in death. The best known representative of this genus is the rabies virus, which until the 1950s was regarded as unique. The use of serological and molecular methods allowed for the discovery a number of new lyssaviruses and the introduction of new terminology regarding the genus Lyssavirus on the basis of various criteria proposed by ICTV was needed. Currently, the Lyssavirus genus includes 14 species, but taking into account the number of new species discovered in recent years it can be hypothesized that such variations may increase in the future, adding new members.
Phytoplasmas are unculturable Mollicutes associated with aster yellows and witches' broom type diseases (AY) of several hundred plant species. Phytoplasma affected plants exhibited chlorosis, stunted growth, abnormal production of secondary shoots, flower malformation and early plant dieback. The aim of this review was to present the historical records of rescarch and current status of phytoplasma differentiation and classification based on RFLP analysis of the 16S rRNA gene. 246 described phytoplasmas have been classified into 20 major phylogenetic groups or subclasses. Article presents the current knowledge on genetic diversity of phytoplasmas, their geographical distribution and plant association as well as the research on phytoplasmosis in Poland.
New and traditional techniques of electron microscopy, and successful attempts at an experimental infection of fish with cocidia provided a base for a considerable taxonomic revision within the group of the fish coccidia. The authors present contemporary views on the biology of these protozoans (life cycles, host specifity) and new systems of taxonomic classification according to Dykova and Lom (1983), Levine (1983) and, the most recent, according to Overstreet et al. (1984). The list of the fish coccidia described from Poland, in agreement with the system of Overstreet, is also presented.