About EntVir - the Online Data Entry for ICTVdB
EntVir, short for enter virus, is the online data entry system for virus descriptions in ICTVdB, the Universal Virus Database of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses. ICTVdB contains
All descriptions are based on a single questionnaire or character list as the set of questions is called in DELTA, the software system used by ICTVdB, that covers all types of phenotypic characteristics needed to describe all the different types of viruses. The general outline of the questionnaire follows closely the outlines of the ICTV Report format for family and genus descriptions (cf. Virus Taxonomy Online, the digital version of the 7th ICTV Report).
Besides general descriptions of families and genera ICTV publishes updates on virus taxonomy and nomenclature down to the species level. Recently, ICTV Reports started to include genomic sequence accession numbers next to a species name. However, since a sequence can only be attributed to an individual virus isolate it became necessary to list also the virus isolate name that refers to the sequence, but any further information on the virus species level or below would be beyond the scope of a written Report. Yet the most important data on a virus are derived from work on a specific virus isolate and thus isolate data are the most valuable information for researchers and the virological community at large.
It is ICTVdB task to obtain as many isolate data over the next years. The database has all the provisions needed to handle large amounts of isolate data, but is dependent on the researchers to provide this information. Huge amount of data have been accumulated in labs and in isolate collections that are presently inaccessible to other researchers, but should be shared with the scientific community. At present ICTVdB has descriptions of about 4000 isolate descriptions, including 172 SARS virus isolates and Dennis Knudson's Orbivirus collection from CDC, Fort Collins, CO, USA. Data from Peter Mertens' Foot-and-Mouth disease virus reference collection, Animal Health Laboratory, Pirbright, UK, and Bob Swanepole's reference collection of Arboviruses, South Africa, of about 10,000 isolates are ready for bulk importation to ICTVdB.
The EntVir system is generated from the ICTVdB character list. Both, the main database and EntVir, are using identical tools and the same data matrix. The strenght of a DELTA database system is that all actions (such translating the database into a report output format, into an interactive key or into phyolgenetic data matrixes) are using the same datas matrix.
However, EntVir has many special features necessary to generate the online version of the questionnaire and a storage database to which the submitted data are sent. Special effort has been made to simplyfy the isolate data submission. Therefore a special first screen has been created that addresses solely isolate specific questions, such as isolation host, geographic location, reference to that first isolation, sequence accession numbers and who was involved in the isolation. In most cases, it will be sufficient to deal only with the questions listed on this first screen.
For bulk entries other more user-friendly methods are available and if you want to submit a collection of data please contact the ICTVdB Mangement to discuss the options.
| Next page >>> | Data Entry procedure |
Addtional reading
What is the ICTVdb? Introduction to ICTVdB in the 7th ICTV ReportICTVdB Origin and Functions
Historical background of ICTVdB
What is ICTVdB
Towards a universal virus database
Copyright 2002 ICTV. All rights reserved.
Comments to ICTVdB Management