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1. 2021-01-31 16:08 Edward C. Holmes open
   The problem lies in 'In all organismal taxonomies...'. What are these people on?
2. 2021-01-31 16:11 Andrew Rambaut open
   My reply: ```The problem is that taxonomy doesn't really work for virus as far as I am concerned as there is essentially astructured continuum of diversity - i.e. completely artifactual notions of species. And with recombination that just makes thing completely arbitrary. I don't mind labelling bits of the phylogenetic tree for convenient discussion but Ithink we get too focused on trying to replicate a metazoan taxonomy on viruses. That said - to answer you final question - yes, SARS1 and SARS2 are completely distinct (not even sibling clades)with the diversity within each minuscule compared to the divergence between them. This paper gives an overview oftheir relative positions (and some of the complex recombinant history in the sarbecovirus clade):https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-020-0771-4```
3. 2021-01-31 16:12 Andrew Rambaut open
   Glad I can't make the WHO nomenclature meeting this week - will be carnage.
4. 2021-01-31 16:26 Kristian G. Andersen open
   Lol. Jens was right about one thing though - that was indeed a dumb question. "What do you mean, we can't fit these little things into neat little boxes?! Nein!!"
5. 2021-01-31 16:37 Edward C. Holmes
   The WHO nomenclature thing will be horrendous. Tulio and Jens is an interesting combination.
6. 2021-01-31 16:43 Robert F. Garry open
   Germans and their neat little boxes - yes I believe it's a thing...

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