Corticoviridae

Merivirus is a genus of viruses that is the sole genus in the family Corticoviridae. Meriviruses are bacteriophages; that is, their natural hosts are bacteria. The genus contains two species. From 1981 to 2024, the genus was named Corticovirus, sharing a name with its family. Prophages closely related to bacteriophage PM2 are abundant in the genomes of aquatic bacteria, suggesting that the ecological importance of meriviruses might be underestimated. Bacteriophage PM2 was first described in 1968 after isolation from seawater sampled from the coast of Chile.