Kobuvirus is a viral

Virus

A virus is a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the living cells of organisms. Viruses infect all types of organisms, from animals and plants to bacteria and archaea...

 genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 belonging to the family Picornaviridae. The genus is composed of three species, Aichi virus, Bovine kobuvirus and Porcine kobuvirus each possessing a single serotype

Serotype

Serotype or serovar refers to distinct variations within a subspecies of bacteria or viruses. These microorganisms, viruses, or cells are classified together based on their cell surface antigens...

. Aichi virus infects man (1,2), while bovine kobuvirus (3) and porcine kobuvirus (4,5), as suggested by its name, infects cattle and swine.

Virus particles

The molecular mass of a typical virion particle of this genus is typically eight to nine million. The virions of the viruses in this genus consist of capsids that are 27 to 30 nm in diameter (1). The capsid is described as being round and displaying icosahedral symmetry. The capsid is believed to consist of 12 capsomers and the capsid shell structure of these virions has a monolayer composition (1). Using conventional electron microscopy, the structure of the capsid surface can be visualised (1,2). The virus particles contain a single species of ssRNA. These virions have a sedimentation coefficient of 140-165 S20w. The particles are described to be “relatively stable” in vitro (in comparison to other viruses) and stable in acidic conditions of pH 3.5 (2). They have also been found to be insensitive to treatment with some chemicals including chloroform, ether and non-ionic detergents (2).

Genetics

The viruses in this genus have single-stranded, linear non-segmented, positive-sense RNA genomes with lengths of approximately 8.2-8.3 kb (2,3).

External links

• Viralzone: Kobuvirus