vClassifier: a toolkit for high-resolution phylogenetic classification of prokaryotic viruses
Kun Zhou, James C Kosmopoulos, Karthik Anantharaman · 2026
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Description
Kun Zhou, James C Kosmopoulos, and Karthik Anantharaman present, in a 2026 paper, a software toolkit that classifies bacteria- and archaea-infecting viruses down to species level. Existing tools handle broad family ranks well but blur at genus and species, where ecology questions live. Their method builds on family trees of single-copy marker genes matched to the official taxonomy framework.
Benchmarks showed agreement with the official classification in the mid-eighties to low-nineties percent range at subfamily and genus levels. Adding genome-wide identity measures pushed species-level agreement above ninety-two percent against a major virus database. Assignment rates matched or beat rival tools in head-to-head tests. The toolkit is released publicly for standardised viral naming in microbiome studies.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Kun Zhou, James C Kosmopoulos, Karthik Anantharaman |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 45 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |