Universal Virus Database

The Universal Virus Database, ICTVdB, is authorized by ICTV
(International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses) and has been
constructed by Cornelia B|chen-Osmond, from 1991-2000 in the
Bioinformatics Group, Australian National University, in consultation
with ATCC and supported by NSF. In 2001 ICTVdB moved to the Biosphere
2 Center, the Western Campus of the Earth Institute, Columbia
University of New York USA. The directory of ICTVdB is an Index of
Viruses, a list of approved virus names linked to virus descriptions
coded from information in Virus Taxonomy: The Seventh Report of the
International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses, van Regenmortel et
al., and includes updates subsequently approved by ICTV. It also
incorporates the plant virus database VIDEdB and is illustrated with
EM pictures, diagrams and images of symptoms contributed by
virologists around the world.

The purpose of the ICTV database is to provide information about
viruses and is an interactive database that people can use. ICTVdB
uses a decimal code to present, on the Web searchable descriptions of
virus isolates, species, genera, families, orders, images of many
viruses, and links to genomic and protein databanks. ICTVdB uses world
standard DELTA format for user-friendly simultaneous access to
character list, data files and specification files for interactive
identification and data retrieval, and for data conversion shopfronts
for phylogenetic research. ICTVdB is also using entry forms on the Web
to peer review new virus data through ICTV Study Groups and
descriptions on the level of isolates and species for all known
viruses.

Development of ICTV has been supported by the Research School of
Biological Sciences, The Austrialian National University and the
American Type Culture Collection with NSF grants. BIR-9107464,
BIR-9505661; DBI- 9631047; DBI-9808037.

Information for this metadata was taken from
"http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ICTVdb/".