Double stranded RNA (dsRNA) genome containing viruses infect wide range of animal as well as plants. The majority of the viruses in this group contain icosahedral capsid and similar strategies for the replication of genomic RNA. Despite similarities in the replication strategy, structure, and cognate proteins, the amino acid and nucleotide sequence identity between different genera is generally low. The diversity of proteins and genomic sequence might be the reason for the wide host spectrum of these viruses.

 

Table 29.1 Important members of viruses containing dsRNA genome: