Abstract
A novel RNA virus was identified in firespike (Odontonema tubaeforme) plants exhibiting leaf curling and chlorosis. The molecular features of the viral genomic RNA and proteins resemble those of ampeloviruses. Based on sequence comparisons and phylogenetic analysis, we propose a new species in the genus Ampelovirus, which we have tentatively named Firespike leafroll-associated virus (FLRaV). Bioassays showed that the virus is mechanically transmissible to Nicotiana benthamiana. In addition, a full-length cDNA clone of FLRaV could successfully infect N. benthamiana via agroinfiltration.
Highlights
Members of the genus Ampelovirus are plant RNA viruses that infect mainly fruit crops in orchards and stock nurseries, causing serious reductions in fruit yield and quality worldwide [1]
BLASTx analyses of the identified contigs in the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) database showed that 3916 clean reads (68 reads per million reads mapped) shared significant nucleotide similarities with the genomic sequence of viruses in the genus Ampelovirus, yielding an average coverage of the whole genome at 40.08
Unlike mechanically inoculated N. benthamiana plants, no visible symptoms were observed in the infiltrated N. benthamiana plants (Figure 4c,d). These results suggested that the Firespike leafroll-associated virus (FLRaV) full-length cDNA clone could replicate and move in N. benthamiana without inducing any typical viral symptoms
Summary
Members of the genus Ampelovirus (family Closteroviridae) are plant RNA viruses that infect mainly fruit crops in orchards and stock nurseries, causing serious reductions in fruit yield and quality worldwide [1]. The replication gene block (RGB), located towards the 50 end of the viral genome, consists of open reading frames (ORFs) 1a and 1b. For members in subgroup I, a large, GC-rich intergenic region (above 600 nt) is located between two gene blocks, and towards the 30 end of the viral genome, a variable array of genes encoding structural and accessory proteins can be found [16,17,18,19]. Members in subgroup II have reduced genome size and complexity; the intergenic region between the two gene modules is relatively small (~150 nt), and no variable coding region has been identified at the 30 end of the viral genome [20,21,22,23]
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