What is "ebolavirus"

n. Any of several viruses, of the genus ''Ebolavirus'', responsible for hemorrhagic fever

The genus Ebolavirus is a virological taxon included in the family Filoviridae, order Mononegavirales. The members of this genus are called ebolaviruses. The five known virus species are named for the region where each was originally identified: Bundibugyo ebolavirus, Reston ebolavirus, Sudan ebolavirus, Taï Forest ebolavirus (originally Côte d'Ivoire ebolavirus), and Zaire ebolavirus. The Ebola virus (EBOV) protein VP24 inhibits type I and II interferon (IFN) signaling by binding to NPI-1 subfamily karyopherin α (KPNA) nuclear import proteins, preventing their interaction with tyrosine-phosphorylated STAT1 (phospho-STAT1). This inhibits phospho-STAT1 nuclear import. A biochemical screen now identifies heterogeneous nuclear ribonuclear protein complex C1/C2 (hnRNP C1/C2) nuclear import as an additional target of VP24. Co-immunoprecipitation studies demonstrate that hnRNP C1/C2 interacts with multiple KPNA family members, including KPNA1. Interaction with hnRNP C1/C2 occurs through the same KPNA1 C-terminal region (amino acids 424–457) that binds VP24 and phospho-STAT1. The ability of hnRNP C1/C2 to bind KPNA1 is diminished in the presence of VP24, and cells transiently expressing VP24 redistribute hnRNP C1/C2 from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. These data further define the mechanism of hnRNP C1/C2 nuclear import and demonstrate that the impact of EBOV VP24 on nuclear import extends beyond STAT1.1

Each species of the genus Ebolavirus has one member virus, and four of these cause Ebola virus disease (EVD) in humans, a type of hemorrhagic fever having a very high case fatality rate; the fifth, Reston virus, has caused EVD in other primates. Zaire ebolavirus is the type species (reference or example species) for Ebolavirus, and has the highest mortality rate of the ebolaviruses, and is also responsible for the largest number of outbreaks of the five known members of the genus, including the 1976 Zaire outbreak and the outbreak with the most deaths (2014).

Ebolaviruses were first described after outbreaks of EVD in southern Sudan in June 1976 and in Zaire in August 1976. The name Ebolavirus is derived from the Ebola River in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), the location of the 1976 outbreak, and the taxonomic suffix -virus (denoting a viral genus). This genus was introduced in 1998 as the "Ebola-like viruses". In 2002 the name was changed to Ebolavirus and in 2010, the genus was emended. Ebolaviruses are closely related to marburgviruses.