Novirhabdovirus is a genus of the family Rhabdoviridae containing viruses known to infect aquatic hosts. They can be transmitted from fish to fish or by waterborne virus, as well as through contaminated eggs. Replication and thermal inactivation temperatures are generally lower than for other rhabdoviruses, given the cold-blooded nature of their hosts. Hosts include a large and growing range of marine and freshwater fish.[2][3]
A common characteristic among novirhabdoviruses is the NV gene, an approximately 500-nucleotide-long gene located between the glycoprotein (G) and polymerase (L) genes. The expected protein encoded by the NV gene is not found in the virions, leading to its being named a "nonvirion" (NV) protein. This is the origin of the genus name Novirhabdovirus.[4]
^Mortensen HF, Heuer OE, Lorenzen N, Otte L, Olesen NJ (September 1999). "Isolation of viral haemorrhagic septicaemia virus (VHSV) from wild marine fish species in the Baltic Sea, Kattegat, Skagerrak and the North Sea". Virus Res. 63 (1–2): 95–106. doi:10.1016/S0168-1702(99)00062-3. PMID10509720.
