Viruses (2018) 10 (8 - 406)

Thanuja Thekke-Veetil, Thien Ho, Joseph D. Postman, Robert R. Martin and Ioannis E. Tzanetakis (2018)
A virus in American blackcurrant (Ribes americanum) with distinct genome features reshapes classification in the Tymovirales
Viruses 10 (8 - 406)
Abstract: A novel virus with distinct genome features was discovered by high throughput sequencing in a symptomatic blackcurrant plant. The virus, tentatively named Ribes americanum virus A (RAVA), has distinct genome organization and molecular features bridging genera in the order Tymovirales. The genome consists of 7106 nucleotides excluding the poly(A) tail. Five open reading frames were identified, with the first encoding a putative viral replicase with methyl transferase (MTR), AlkB, helicase, and RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) domains. The genome organization downstream of the replicase resembles that of members of the order Tymovirales with an unconventional triple gene block (TGB) movement protein arrangement with none of the other four putative proteins exhibiting significant homology to viral proteins. Phylogenetic analysis using replicase conserved motifs loosely placed RAVA within the Betaflexiviridae. Data strongly suggest that RAVA is a novel virus that should be classified as a species in a new genus in the Betaflexiviridae or a new family within the order Tymovirales.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Full text of article
Database assignments for author(s): Ioannis E. Tzanetakis, Robert R. Martin

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
identification/taxonomy

---

Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Ribes americanum virus A	Currant/gooseberry (Ribes)