Discovery and Genome Characterization of Three New Rhabdoviruses Infecting Passiflora spp. in Brazil

Area of Science:

• Plant Virology
• Molecular Biology
• Bioinformatics

Background:

• Passiflora species are economically important crops susceptible to various viral pathogens.
• Understanding the viral diversity in Passiflora is crucial for disease management and crop protection.
• Previous studies have not fully characterized the RNA virome of Passiflora in Brazil.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and characterize novel RNA viruses infecting Passiflora species in Brazil.
• To determine the genomic features and phylogenetic relationships of newly discovered viruses.
• To investigate the prevalence and co-infection patterns of these viruses in Passiflora.

Main Methods:

• High-throughput sequencing (HTS) for viral discovery.
• Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for validation.
• Phylogenetic analysis and glycoprotein sequence similarity network analysis.

Main Results:

• Identification and characterization of three novel rhabdoviruses: Passiflora cytorhabdovirus (PFCV), Passiflora nucleorhabdovirus 1 (PaNV1), and Passiflora nucleorhabdovirus 2 (PaNV2).
• PFCV, a novel Gammacytorhabdovirus, exhibits a unique glycoprotein gene; PaNV1 and PaNV2 are new Alphanucleorhabdovirus members.
• All identified viruses were found in mixed infections with other viruses, with PFCV showing widespread distribution across Brazil.

Conclusions:

• The study expands the known diversity of rhabdoviruses infecting Passiflora.
• Findings provide insights into the evolutionary relationships and potential vector associations of these novel viruses.
• The prevalence of mixed infections highlights the complexity of viral disease epidemiology in Passiflora.