Emerg Infect Dis. 2001 Jul-Aug;7(4):756-8. doi: 10.3201/eid0704.010431.
Diagnostic and epidemiologic virology laboratories have in large part traded conventional techniques of virus detection and identification for more rapid, novel, and sensitive molecular methods. By doing so, useful phenotypic characteristics are not being determined. We feel that the impact of this shift in emphasis has impaired studies of the biology of viruses. This position paper is a plea to the scientific and administrative communities to reconsider the importance of such information. We also suggest a revised paradigm for virus isolation and characterization and provide a rationale for accumulating biologic (phenotypic) information.
诊断和流行病学病毒学实验室在很大程度上已将传统的病毒检测和鉴定技术换成了更快速、新颖且灵敏的分子方法。这样一来,有用的表型特征就无法被确定。我们认为这种重点转移的影响损害了对病毒生物学的研究。本立场文件旨在呼吁科学界和管理界重新考虑此类信息的重要性。我们还提出了一种修订后的病毒分离和鉴定范式,并为积累生物学(表型)信息提供了理论依据。