Circovirus
From MicrobeWiki, the student-edited microbiology resource
Baltimore Classification
Higher order taxa
Viruses; ssDNA viruses; Circoviridae; Circovirus
Species
Beak and feather disease virus, Canary circovirus, Goose circovirus
Description and Significance
Circoviruses are very small non-enveloped icosahedral viruses with a single stranded circular DNA genome. They have been described in pigs (porcine circovirus, PCV), chickens (chicken anemia virua, ChAV), psittacines (psittacine beak and feather disease virus, PBFD) and pigeons.
Genome Structure
The genome of the circovirus is monomeric. It is unsegmented and contains a single molecule of circular, ambisense, sinle-stranded DNA that forms a covalently closed circle. The complete genome is 1800-2000 nucleotides long and the genome has a guanine+cytosine content of 48.4-53.1 %. (source: ICTV dB Descriptions)