Editing Virology (section)

=== Baltimore classification ===
{{Main|Baltimore classification}}
[[File:VirusBaltimoreClassification.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|alt=A diagram showing how the Baltimore Classification is based on a virus's DNA or RNA and method of mRNA synthesis|The Baltimore Classification of viruses is based on the method of viral [[mRNA]] synthesis.]]
The Nobel Prize-winning biologist [[David Baltimore]] devised the [[Baltimore classification]] system.<ref name="pmid34259570">{{cite journal |vauthors=Koonin EV, Krupovic M, Agol VI |title=The Baltimore Classification of Viruses 50 Years Later: How Does It Stand in the Light of Virus Evolution? |journal=Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews |volume=85 |issue=3 |pages=e0005321 |date=August 2021 |pmid=34259570 |doi=10.1128/MMBR.00053-21 |pmc=8483701 |s2cid=235821748 |url=https://hal-pasteur.archives-ouvertes.fr/pasteur-03698244/file/Koonin2021MMBR_a.pdf}}</ref>

The Baltimore classification of viruses is based on the mechanism of [[mRNA]] production. Viruses must generate mRNAs from their genomes to produce proteins and replicate themselves, but different mechanisms are used to achieve this in each virus family. Viral genomes may be single-stranded (ss) or double-stranded (ds), RNA or DNA, and may or may not use [[reverse transcriptase]] (RT). In addition, ssRNA viruses may be either [[sense (molecular biology)|sense]] (+) or antisense (−). This classification places viruses into seven groups:
{{Baltimore groups}}
{{Portal|Viruses}}