Distinguishing features

Members of this genus infect Staphylococcus sp. mainly S. aureus. The type species is Staphylococcus virus K. The genome of the exemplar isolate of the type species is 142 kbp, with 8 kb terminal repeats, and with a total of 233 gene coding sequencess as well as 4 encoded tRNAs.

Virion

See discussion under family description.

Genome organisation and replication

See discussion under family description.

Biology

Members of the genus infect Staphylococcus sp. mainly S. aureus.

Derivation of names

Kayvirus: derived phonetically from the name of the exemplar isolate, Staphylococcus phage K, of the type species.

Species demarcation criteria

Members of the same species are more than 95% identical in genome nucleotide sequence, including the terminal repeat region. Phages with genomes that differ by more than 5% are assigned to different species.

Member species

Virus names, the choice of exemplar isolates, and virus abbreviations, are not official ICTV designations.