Phasmaviridae is a family of viruses with negative stranded RNA genomes associated with insect hosts. They are a member of the order Bunyavirales.[1] Phasmaviruses were first discovered in phantom midges of the genus Chaoborus in 2014.[2]
Ferak feravirus, a member of the genus Feravirus, has been isolated in cell culture. The virion is enveloped and spherical with a diameter of 80–120 nanometers. The genome has three segments L (6.8 kilobases), M (4.2 kilobases) and S (1.5 kilobases). It encodes five proteins—the polymerase on the L segment, the p12G and the Gc-Gn protein on the M segment and the N and p12 proteins in the S segment.[3]
^ abMarklewitz M, Zirkel F, Kurth A, Drosten C, Junglen S (2015) Evolutionary and phenotypic analysis of live virus isolates suggests arthropod origin of a pathogenic RNA virus family. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 112(24):7536–7541. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1502036112
