[Rhabdoviruses]

Abstract

The family Rhabdoviridae has a non-segmented single stranded negative-sense RNA and its genome ranges in size from approximately 11 kb to almost 16 kb. It is one of the most ecologically diverse families of RNA viruses with members infecting a wide range of organisms. The five structural protein genes are arranged in the same linear order (3'-N-P-M-G-L-5') and may be interspersed with one more additional accessory gene. For many years, a full of knowledge of the rhabdoviridae has been established on extensive studies of two kinds of prototype viruses; vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) and rabies virus (RABV). Among them, the genus Lyssavirus includes RABV and rabies-related viruses naturally infect mammals and chiropterans via bite-exposure by rabid animals and finally cause fatal encephalitis. In this review, we describe the sketch of the various virological features of the Rhabdoviridae, especially focusing on VSV and RABV.