Multiple mitochondrial viruses in an isolate of the Dutch Elm disease fungus Ophiostoma novo-ulmi

The nucleotide sequences of three mitochondrial virus double-stranded (ds) RNAs, RNA-4 (2599 nucleotides), RNA-5 (2474 nucleotides), and RNA-6 (2343 nucleotides), in a diseased isolate Log1/3-8d2 (Ld) of the Dutch elm disease fungus Ophiostoma novo-ulmi have been determined. All these RNAs are A-U-rich (71-73% A + U residues). Using the fungal mitochondrial genetic code in which UGA codes for tryptophan, the positive-strand of each of RNAs 4, 5, and 6 contains a single open reading frame (ORF) with the potential to encode a protein of 783, 729, and 695 amino acids, respectively, all of which contain conserved motifs characteristic of RNA-dependent RNA polymerases (RdRps). Sequence comparisons showed that these RNAs are related to each other and to a previously characterized RNA, RNA-3a, from the same O. novo-ulmi isolate, especially within the RdRp-like motifs. However, the overall RNA nucleotide and RdRp amino acid sequence identities were relatively low (43-55% and 20-32%, respectively). The 5'- and 3'-terminal sequences of these RNAs are different, but they can all be folded into potentially stable stem-loop structures. Those of RNA-4 and RNA-6 have inverted complementarity, potentially forming panhandle structures. Their molecular and biological properties indicate that RNAs 3a, 4, 5, and 6 are the genomes of four different viruses, which replicate independently in the same cell. These four viruses are also related to a mitochondrial RNA virus from another fungus, Cryphonectria parasitica, recently designated the type species of the Mitovirus genus of the Narnaviridae family, and to a virus from the fungus Rhizoctonia solani. It is proposed that the four O. novo-ulmi mitochondrial viruses are assigned to the Mitovirus genus and designated O. novo-ulmi mitovirus (OnuMV) 3a-Ld, 4-Ld, 5-Ld, and 6-Ld, respectively. Northern blot analysis indicated that O. novo-ulmi Ld nucleic acid extracts contain more single-stranded (ss, positive-stranded) RNA than dsRNA for all three newly described mitoviruses. O. novo-ulmi RNA-7, previously believed to be a satellite-like RNA, is shown to be a defective RNA, derived from OnuMV4-Ld RNA by multiple internal deletions. OnuMV4-Ld is therefore the helper virus for the replication of both RNA-7 and another defective RNA, RNA-10. Sequence comparisons indicate that RNA-10 could be derived from RNA-7, as previously suggested, or derived directly from RNA-4.