Segment 5 of the rice dwarf virus genome encodes a protein highly conserved within the phytoreoviruses

The complete nucleotide sequence of segment 5 (S5) of the rice dwarf virus (RDV) genome was determined. RDV S5 is 2571 bp in length and has a single long open reading frame which encodes a polypeptide of 801 amino acids (Mr 90495). When compared to the wound tumor virus genome S5, there was 56.9% and 52.8% similarity in the nucleotide and amino acid sequences, respectively. This high similarity suggests that the S5 proteins of these viruses are functionally similar.