Complete genome sequence of a tentative novel capillovirus isolated from Gerbera jamesonii

The currently named gerbera virus A (GeVA) has been shown to be a novel capillovirus with a complete genome of 6929 nucleotides (nt) (GenBank accession no. OM525829.1). GeVA was detected in Gerbera jamesonii using high-throughput RNA sequencing analysis. The GeVA genome is a single linear RNA with two open reading frames (ORF), similar to those of other capilloviruses. The larger ORF encodes a polyprotein containing four domains, while the smaller ORF encodes a movement protein. The complete genome had 41.0-54.9% nt sequence identity to other those of capilloviruses, while the polyprotein and the movement protein had 26.5-36.4% and 13.1-32.2% amino acid (aa) sequence identity, respectively. Two UUAGGU promoters for subgenomic RNA (sgRNA) transcription were also identified in this study. BLAST analysis demonstrated that the GeVA genome shared the highest sequence similarity with rubber tree capillovirus 1 (MN047299.1) (complete nucleotide sequence identity, 68.54%; polyprotein amino acid sequence identity, 44.53%). Phylogenetic analysis based on complete genome and replication protein sequences placed GeVA alongside other members of the genus Capillovirus in the family Betaflexiviridae. These data suggest that GeVA is a new member of the genus Capillovirus.