Taxonomic Structure of the Subfamily

Subfamily

Alphaherpesvirinae

Genus

    Simplexvirus

Genus

    Varicellovirus

Genus

    “Marek’s Disease-like Viruses”

Genus

    “Infectious Laryngotracheitis-like Viruses”

Distinguishing Features

The nucleotide sequences or predicted amino acid sequences of the subfamily members form a distinct lineage within the family. A region of the genome comprising the unique short sequence (U_S) and flanking inverted repeats (IR_S and TR_S) contains genes homologous to those found in HHV-1 and characteristic of the subfamily. The viruses productively infect fibroblasts in culture and epithelial cells in vivo. Many members cause overt, usually vesicular epithelial lesions in their natural hosts.


Subfamily	*Alphaherpesvirinae*
Genus	*Simplexvirus*
Genus	*Varicellovirus*
Genus	“Marek’s Disease-like Viruses”
Genus	“Infectious Laryngotracheitis-like Viruses”