August 2013, Volume 158, Issue 8, pp 1679–1686 | Cite as

Characterization of the complete genome of a novel citrivirus infecting Actinidia chinensis

A ssRNA virus from kiwifruit (Actinidia spp.) was identified as a member of the family Betaflexiviridae. It was mechanically transmitted to the herbaceous indicators Nicotiana benthamiana, N. clevelandii, N. glutinosa and N. occidentalis. The complete genome was comprised of three ORFs and a 3’poly (A) tail. Phylogenetic analysis of the entire genome indicated it was a novel member of the genus Citrivirus (family Betaflexiviridae). The complete nucleotide sequence differed from that of citrus leaf blotch virus (CLBV) by ~ 26 %. The movement protein (ORF2) and coat protein (ORF3) shared 95-96 % and 90-92 % amino acid sequence identity, respectively, with CLBV. The replicase polyprotein (ORF1) was distinctly different from published CLBV sequences, with 78-79 % amino acid sequence identity, while the 5’ UTR and 3’ UTR differed from CLBV by 28 % and 29 %, respectively. The sequence differences indicate that the citrivirus from Actinidia is either a divergent strain of CLBV or a member of a new citrivirus species.

Coat Protein Amino Acid Sequence Identity Coat Protein Gene Coat Protein Sequence Replicase Gene

The online version of this article (doi: 10.1007/s00705-013-1654-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The authors wish to thank Zespri Innovation and Plant and Food Research for funding this work, and Jane Lancaster and Peter Berry (Zespri Innovation) for their management of the quarantine plants and associated testing programme.

705_2013_1654_MOESM1_ESM.pdf (78 kb)
Supplementary material 1 (PDF 78 kb)
705_2013_1654_MOESM2_ESM.pptx (194 kb)
Supplementary material 2 (PPTX 194 kb)

© Springer-Verlag Wien 2013

Chavan, R.R., Blouin, A.G., Cohen, D. et al. Arch Virol (2013) 158: 1679. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-013-1654-2
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