Picornavirales is an order of viruses with vertebrate, invertebrate, protist and plant hosts. The name has a dual etymology. Fi****rst, picor****na- is an acro****nym fo****r p****oli****ovi****rus, i****nsensitivity to ether, c****oxsackievi****rus, orphan vi****rus, rhinovi****rus, and r****ibo****nuclei****c ac****id. Secondly, pico-, meaning extremely small, combines with RNA to describe these very small RNA viruses. The order comprises viruses that historically are referred to as picorna-like viruses.

Characteristics

The families within this order share a number of common features: The evolution of picorna-like viruses seems to have antedated the separation of eukaryotes into the extant crown groups.

Taxonomy

The following families are recognized: