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Last Updated 05-Aug-2005

Order:
 Nidovirales
Family: Reoviridae
Genus: Rotavirus
Genome: (+)dsRNA, ~20kb
Genes:
 1a, 1b, S, E, M, N

The rotaviruses (RV) are officially divided into 6 antigenic groups (serogroups), A-E. Serotypes F and G are also proposed members. RV-A, B & C infect humans.

Other species in the family include mammalian orthoreovirus (MRV; genus Orthoreovirus), bluetongue virus (BTV; genus Obrivirus), Colorado tick fever virus (CTFV; genus Coltivirus) and Banna virus (BAV; genus Seadornavirus).

Figure 1.
Schematic representation of the simian rotavirus SA11 (+)dsRNA genome. Based on GenBank accession no. X16830, X16831, X16062, X14204, X14914, X00421, X00355, J02353, K02028, K01138 and X0783 .

The 70nm rotavirus virion is a non-enveloped, icosahedral particle composed of a double-layered, nucelocapsid coat which imbues considerable environmental stability to these viruses. When viewed by electron microscopy the name rotavirus (derived from the Latin rota, meaning "wheel"). The genome is composed of 11 segments of double-stranded RNA, which code for six structural and five nonstructural proteins.