Classification and Diversity

Coronaviruses belong to order Nidovirales, suborder Cornidovirineae, and family Coronaviridae.

Family Coronaviridae used to be divided into subfamily Coronavirinae and subfamily Torovirinae. The member genera of subfamily coronavirinae were Alphacoronavirus (α), Betacoronavirus (β), Gammacoronavirus (γ), and Deltacoronavirus (δ). The member genera of subfamily torovirinae were Torovirus and Balfinivirus.

As of 2019, Coronaviridae is divided into two subfamilies: (1) Letovirinae, and (2) Orthocornavirinae. Subfamily letovirinae is further divided into genus Alphaletovirus and subgenus Milecovirus. Subfamily orthocoronavirinae is further divided into four genera based on phylogenetic relationships and genomic structures: Alphacoronavirus (α), Betacoronavirus (β), Gammacoronavirus, and Deltacoronavirus (δ). The novel Coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-related Coronavirus 2) is a Betacoronavirus.

Coronaviridae Taxonomy

Credit: Self-created table

There are currently seven human coronaviruses; four of which are mild and three of which are severe. Most people contract a mild human coronavirus at least once in their lifetimes in the form of a cold. Why human coronaviruses are becoming more virulent is a significant question still unanswered. The self-created table below displays the seven human coronaviruses and their corresponding receptor.

A target question for consideration is as follows: Can studying these receptors and their roles in the body help explain why certain human coronaviruses are more severe than others?

Receptor Table for Human Coronaviruses

Credit: Self-created table

Sources:

NCBI. "Membrane binding proteins of coronaviruses," https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7079996/
ICTV (International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses). "Coronaviridae," https://talk.ictvonline.org/ictv-reports/ictv_9th_report/positive-sense-rna-viruses-2011/w/posrna_viruses/222/coronaviridae
Cui, J., Li, F. & Shi, Z. Origin and evolution of pathogenic coronaviruses. Nat Rev Microbiol 17, 181–192 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-018-0118-9
"Family - Coronaviridae." Ninth Report of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses 2012, Pages 806-828. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-384684-6.00068-

Phylogenetic Trees Featuring the Coronaviridae Family - make a diff page

Purpose: to understand the phylogenetic and/or evolutionary relationships between different coronavirus species and hint at similarities between species from different genera or sub-genera.

PROCESS FOR CREATING TREE (5 steps)

*REFERENCE TOOL: Refer to the the table titled "Coronaviridae Taxonomy" at the top of this page to see all the different species within family Coronaviridae.

STEP 1

STEP 2

STEP 3

STEP 4

STEP 5

**Note that the phylogenetic tree only specifies the accession number, geographic location, and collection date for each representative species.

Phylogenetic Tree of Many Different Coronaviruses (fix - maybe needs smaller sample size)

Big Phylogenetic Tree of Many Different Coronaviruses

Credit: Self-created with NCBI Virus' phylogenetic tree builder

Phylogenetic tree of different Coronaviruses from the α, β, γ, and δ genus, built with NCBI Virus' phylogenetic tree builder. All 90 sequences are taken from either NCBI Virus or NCBI Gene. Accession number, geographic location, and collection date are specified for each species. Species name, host, and genus are specified in the table titled "Phylogenetic Tree Accession Labels."

Phylogenetic Tree Accession Labels

Credit: Self-created table

Table that matches each accession number on the "Big Phylogenetic Tree of Many Different Coronaviruses" to their corresponding species, host, and genus.

Phylogenetic Tree of Different Alphacoronaviruses

All 26 sequences are derived from the big phylogenetic tree of many different Coronaviruses from different genera.

Phylogenetic tree of different Coronaviruses from the α genus, built with NCBI Virus' phylogenetic tree builder. Accession number, geographic location, and collection date are specified for each species. Species name, host, and genus are specified in the table below the tree.

alphacoronavirus_phylogenetic_tree.pdf

Credit: Self-created with NCBI Virus' phylogenetic tree builder

Alphacoronavirus Phylogenetic Tree Accession Labels

Credit: Self-created table

Phylogenetic Tree of Different Betacoronaviruses

All 50 sequences are derived from the big phylogenetic tree of many different Coronaviruses from different genera.

Phylogenetic tree of different Coronaviruses from the β genus, built with NCBI Virus' phylogenetic tree builder. Accession number, geographic location, and collection date are specified for each species. Species name, host, and genus are specified in the table below the tree.

betacoronavirus_phylogenetic_tree.pdf

Credit: Self-created with NCBI Virus' phylogenetic tree builder

Betacoronavirus Phylogenetic Tree Accession Labels

Credit: Self-created table

Phylogenetic Tree of Different Gammacoronaviruses

All 7 sequences are derived from the big phylogenetic tree of many different Coronaviruses from different genera.

Phylogenetic tree of different Coronaviruses from the γ genus, built with NCBI Virus' phylogenetic tree builder. Accession number, geographic location, and collection date are specified for each species. Species name, host, and genus are specified in the table below the tree.

gammacoronavirus_phylogenetic_tree.pdf

Credit: Self-created with NCBI Virus' phylogenetic tree builder

Gammacoronavirus Phylogenetic Tree Accession Labels

Credit: Self-created table

Phylogenetic Tree of Different Deltacoronaviruses

All 7 sequences derived from the big phylogenetic tree of many different Coronaviruses from different genera.

Phylogenetic tree of different Coronaviruses from the δ genus, built with NCBI Virus' phylogenetic tree builder. Accession number, geographic location, and collection date are specified for each species. Species name, host, and genus are specified in the table below the tree.

deltacoronavirus_phylogenetic_tree.pdf

Credit: Self-created with NCBI Virus' phylogenetic tree builder

Deltacoronavirus Phylogenetic Tree Accession Labels

Credit: Self-created table

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Classification and Diversity

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