Identification of a novel mitovirus in grapevine through high-throughput sequencing

Transcriptome data from a plant sample frequently include numerous reads originating from RNA virus genomes that were concurrently isolated during RNA preparation. These high-throughput sequencing reads from the virus can be assembled to form a new sequence for the plant RNA genome.

Here, we identify putative novel mitovirus, grapevine mitovirus 1 (GMV1) through high-throughput sequencing (HTS) of grapevine rootstocks (Vitis spp.), and the identified virus was confirmed using virus-specific primers in RT-PCR assay. The genomic RNA of GMV1 encodes complete open reading frame (ORF) of 2,496 nucleotides (nts) in length. RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) encoded by the viral genome contained one RdRp conserved domain. BLASTx analysis of GMV1 genome showed sequence identity of 33.18-56.75% with the existing mitovirus sequences. Phylogenetic analysis based on genome sequences showed that GMV1 clustered in a distinct clade to other mitoviruses.

Grapevine mitovirus 1 represents a newly discovered species within the Unuamitovirus genus of the Mitoviridae family, targeting fungal mitochondria. While the majority of recognized mitoviruses typically lack a functional RdRp as per the plant mitochondrial genetic code, GMV1 encodes a complete RdRp in accordance with both fungal and plant mitochondrial genetic codes.