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A new putative alphapartitivirus recovered from the powdery mildew fungus Erysiphe palczewskii
Guihong Xiong1, Ping Qiu1, Cong Li2
1State Key Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control for Fujian and Taiwan Crop, Fujian Province Key Laboratory of Plant Virology, Institute of Plant Virology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China.
Abstract:
Two double-stranded RNAs (dsRNA) likely representing the genome of a novel alphapartitivirus which we provisionally named Erysiphe palczewskii alphapartitivirus 1 (EpV1) were recovered from the powdery mildew fungus E. palczewskii infecting Sophora japonica in Jingzhou, Hubei province of China. The two dsRNAs, 1955 (dsRNA1) and 1917 (dsRNA2) bp in size, respectively, each contains a single open reading frame (ORF) encoding a 585- and 528-aa protein, respectively. The 585-aa protein contains a conserved RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) domain and shows significant homology to RdRps of approved or putative partitiviruses, particularly those belonging to the genus Alphapartitivirus. However, it shares an aa sequence identity lower than 80% with its closest relative, the RdRp of the putative alphapartitivirus Grapevine partitivirus, and lower than 60% with the RdRps of other partitiviruses. In a phylogenetic tree constructed with RdRp aa sequences of selected partitiviruses, the putative virus EpV1 clustered with Grapevine partitivirus and formed a well-supported monophyletic clade with known or putative alphapartitiviruses.
Insights
Researchers discovered a novel alphapartitivirus, Erysiphe palczewskii alphapartitivirus 1 (EpV1), in powdery mildew fungi. This finding expands our understanding of partitivirus diversity and evolution in plant pathogens.
Area of Science:
- Mycology
- Virology
- Plant Pathology
Background:
- Powdery mildew fungi, such as Erysiphe palczewskii, can impact plant health.
- Partitiviruses are a genus of viruses with double-stranded RNA genomes, often associated with fungi.
- Understanding viral diversity in plant pathogens is crucial for disease management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and characterize a novel virus infecting Erysiphe palczewskii.
- To determine the phylogenetic relationship of the novel virus to known partitiviruses.
Main Methods:
- Extraction and analysis of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) from fungal samples.
- Open reading frame (ORF) prediction and protein sequence analysis.
- Phylogenetic analysis using RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) amino acid sequences.
Main Results:
- Two dsRNAs (dsRNA1: 1955 bp, dsRNA2: 1917 bp) were identified, representing the genome of a novel alphapartitivirus, provisionally named Erysiphe palczewskii alphapartitivirus 1 (EpV1).
- EpV1 encodes proteins with conserved RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) domains, showing homology to other partitiviruses but with distinct sequence identities (<80% to Grapevine partitivirus).
- Phylogenetic analysis placed EpV1 within the Alphapartitivirus genus, forming a distinct clade with other known or putative alphapartitiviruses.
Conclusions:
- A novel alphapartitivirus, EpV1, has been identified in Erysiphe palczewskii, expanding the known diversity of this virus genus.
- EpV1 represents a new viral species within the Alphapartitivirus genus, distinct from previously characterized members.
- This discovery contributes to the understanding of viral communities associated with plant pathogenic fungi.
