Proposal for the classification of sturgeon (Acipenseridae) nucleo-cytoplasmic large DNA viruses into the family Mimiviridae

The white sturgeon iridovirus was first described from a restocking facility (1), followed by other sNCLDVs: Missouri River sturgeon iridovirus, shortnose sturgeon virus, British Columbia white sturgeon virus, Namao virus (NV), and Acipenser iridovirus European (AcIV-E) (2, 3-4, 5). Besides the other recognised sturgeon viruses (Acipenserid herpesviruses, Sturgeon ichtadenovirus), the best known and most common are sNCLDVs, which comprise the largest group of viral agents causing disease in several sturgeon species (7).

Based on partial genome sequences, it was concluded that the sNCLDVs likely belong to the family Mimiviridae (8). However, in the absence of sufficient sequence data, the ICTV has not yet assigned an official name to any of the sNCLDVs nor classified them into any existing or new virus family. Therefore, the exact classification of these sturgeon viruses, as well as their precise genetic relationships, awaited more sequence data (5).