Towards an integrative view of virus phenotypes

Authors

John P. DeLong, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Maitham A. Al-Sammak, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Zeina Al-Ameeli, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
David Dunigan, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
Kyle F. Edwards, University of Hawaiʻi at MānoaFollow
Jeffry J. Fuhrmann, University of DelawareFollow
Jason P. Gleghorn, University of DelawareFollow
Hanqun Li, University of Delaware
Kona Haramoto, University of Delaware
Amelia O. Harrison, University of Delaware
Marcia F. Marston, Roger Williams UniversityFollow
Ryan M. Moore, University of DelawareFollow
Shawn W. Polson, University of DelawareFollow
Barbra D. Ferrell, University of DelawareFollow
Miranda E. Salsbery, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
Christopher R. Schvarcz, University of Hawaiʻi at MānoaFollow
Jasmine Shirazi, University of Delaware
Grieg F. Steward, University of Hawaiʻi at MānoaFollow
James L. Van Etten, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
K. Eric Wommack, University of DelawareFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2022

Citation

Published in Nature Reviews Microbiology 20 (February 2022), pp. 83–94.

doi:10.1038/ s41579-021-00612-w

Comments

Copyright © 2021 Springer Nature Limited. Used by permission.

Abstract

Understanding how phenotypes emerge from genotypes is a foundational goal in biology. As challenging as this task is when considering cellular life, it is further complicated in the case of viruses. During replication, a virus as a discrete entity (the virion) disappears and manifests itself as a metabolic amalgam between the virus and the host (the virocell). Identifying traits that unambiguously constitute a virus’s phenotype is straightforward for the virion, less so for the virocell. Here, we present a framework for categorizing virus phenotypes that encompasses both virion and virocell stages and considers functional and performance traits of viruses in the context of fitness. Such an integrated view of virus phenotype is necessary for comprehensive interpretation of viral genome sequences and will advance our understanding of viral evolution and ecology.