Published November 26, 2025 | Version v3
Preprint Open

Consensus statement from the second RdRp Summit: towards a unified framework for RNA virus biology

Authors/Creators

  • 1. ROR icon Flanders Marine Institute
  • 2. TWINCORE GmbH
  • 3. ROR icon Crop Research Institute
  • 4. ROR icon Osaka Medical and Pharmaceutical University
  • 5. School of Medicine, Tokai University
  • 6. ROR icon National Research Centre for Banana
  • 7. ROR icon Wageningen University & Research
  • 8. ROR icon MRC University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research
  • 9. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
  • 10. ROR icon Oregon State University
  • 11. ROR icon Seoul National University
  • 12. ROR icon Washington State University
  • 13. 東京大学医科学研究所
  • 14. Institut Pasteur
  • 15. ROR icon Scientific Veterinary Institute "Novi Sad"
  • 16. ROR icon Vilnius University
  • 17. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
  • 18. Division of agriculture, University of Arkansas
  • 19. ROR icon Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement
  • 20. Robert Koch Institute
  • 21. ROR icon University of California, Davis
  • 22. University of Cambridge

Description

RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, or RdRp, remains the central molecular hallmark of RNA viruses. It serves as both a universal anchor for virus detection and a critical target for understanding the functional and evolutionary properties of RNA viruses. Since the inaugural RdRp summit in 2023, there have been significant advances in sequencing, structural prediction and artificial intelligence, all of which have accelerated the pace of RNA virus discovery and taxonomic annotation, revealing unprecedented levels of viral diversity, including novel phyla and unique genome architectures. The second RdRp summit, which was held in Lisbon in May 2025, gathered a group of research scientists from diverse subfields of virology to address emerging challenges in RNA virus biology. These challenges ranged from standardising  annotation and data sharing to harnessing structure-guided phylogenetics and planetary-scale computational tools. Here, our consensus statement outlines key progress, current and future challenges and community-driven initiatives, including benchmarking, virus-host inference, and ongoing knowledge exchange efforts - all of which are designed to unify the field. By fostering an environment of sustained collaboration, our efforts aim to build a coherent framework for modern RNA virus biology and to accelerate the exploration of the hidden RNA virosphere. 

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CONSENSUS_RdRpSummit2025.pdf

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