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Name change as announced by Dr. Joe Burrascano?

Francelle

Senior Member
Messages
444
Location
Victoria, Australia
Sorry if this has already been discussed - but I haven't caught up with the outcome of the statement made by Dr Joe Burrascano a few weeks ago regarding the name change to HGRV and HGRAD which was going to be announced at the 1st International XMRV conference? Did it happen and what name was accepted?
 

George

waitin' fer rabbits
Messages
853
Location
South Texas
I don't know if it was submitted to the committee that names things but it isn't in any of the conference literature. I think someone at the conference said something about it taking up to two years because the committee doesn't meet that often. I wonder if they will wait for an official name change before any effort is made to make the public aware.
 

eric_s

Senior Member
Messages
1,925
Location
Switzerland/Spain (Valencia)
Somehow i feel like those proposed names, HGRV and HGRAD, are not something that's supported by the majority of the people involved in the research into XMRV and MLV-related viruses. But it's just my feeling, no more than that. Do we know how many people other than Dr. Burrascano want this name change? I've never heard or read those names anywhere else than in the message where they were announced.
 

busybee

Senior Member
Messages
119
I've never heard or read those names anywhere else than in the message where they were announced.

From Cheneys newsletter

"Given that the CFS-related strain reported in PNAS is not related to XMRV, a mouse virus, but rather to another mouse virus (PMRV) from the same family of mouse viruses suggests that a name change is in order to describe this family of novel human retroviruses. We propose the name Human Gammaretovirus or GRVs for short with some agreement from my colleagues around the world. "
 

Francelle

Senior Member
Messages
444
Location
Victoria, Australia
Thanks for the replies. I thought it was all a bit too fait accompli and that this conference was too soon for such proposals! Obviously a lot more discussion in store before submitting a final name to the Taxonomy committee.
 

eric_s

Senior Member
Messages
1,925
Location
Switzerland/Spain (Valencia)
From Cheneys newsletter

"Given that the CFS-related strain reported in PNAS is not related to XMRV, a mouse virus, but rather to another mouse virus (PMRV) from the same family of mouse viruses suggests that a name change is in order to describe this family of novel “human” retroviruses. We propose the name Human Gammaretovirus or GRV’s for short with some agreement from my colleagues around the world. "
Oh, ok, thanks.
So HGRV or GRV, as i understand from this quote, will describe the family but will not substitute the name of a specific virus, like XMRV. Correct?
Then it makes more sense to me (but of course i don't understand virology). I always felt it would not be very smart to call XMRV HGRV because there might be other human gammaretroviruses and also to assign numbers to them in this case did not sound like a very good idea to me, because they might be quite different from each other.
 

busybee

Senior Member
Messages
119
Oh, ok, thanks.
So HGRV or GRV, as i understand from this quote, will describe the family but will not substitute the name of a specific virus, like XMRV. Correct?

:ashamed: I have no idea Eric. I just read lots and hope the dots start to join up:eek: But, yes that is how I understand it at the moment....until the next bit of info comes along:worried:
 

redo

Senior Member
Messages
874
Anythings fine for me as long as the new name doesn't sound anything like HIV.
 

CBS

Senior Member
Messages
1,522
I don't know if it was submitted to The Committee That Names Things but it isn't in any of the conference literature. I think someone at the conference said something about it taking up to two years because the committee doesn't meet that often. I wonder if they will wait for an official name change before any effort is made to make the public aware.
(my italics and capitalization.)

Apparently, the committee that names things (TCTNT) is actually the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV - http://talk.ictvonline.org/ictv_home/default.aspx).

FWIW, in speaking with Dr. Singh at the OFFER conference, she is not in favor of any changes to the name XMRV at this point in time. A bunch of (however well meaning) groups coming up with their own names for the same thing just confuses the literature. She prefers to wait until we know more about what it is that we are looking at before any name changes (that, I suspect might be assuming more knowledge than we actually have at this point in time).