Nucleotide sequence and genome organization of the medium RNA of Iris yellow spot virus from the United States.

Iris yellow spot tospovirus (IYSV) of the family Bunyaviridae causes a serious disease in onion in the USA and other parts of the world. Inspite of its economic importance, the complete genomic sequence of IYSV from the USA is not available. The genome structure and organization of the medium (M) RNA of a Washington (WA) isolate of IYSV were determined and compared to the corresponding region of two isolates previously described from Brazil and The Netherlands. Sequence analysis showed that the M-RNA was 4,817 nucleotides long and potentially coded for the movement protein (NSm) in the viral sense and the glycoprotein precursor (Gn and Gc) in the viral complementary sense. The predicted sizes of NSm and Gn/Gc precursor were 34.7 and 128.84 kDa, respectively. The two open reading frames are separated by a 380 nucleotide intergenic region. Phylogenetic analysis of the NSm and Gn/Gc genes from the WA isolate showed grouping that reflected their respective serogroups. The WA isolate formed a close cluster with the two previously reported IYSV isolates and the IYSV cluster was distinguishable from other tospovirus species. This is the first report of complete genomic sequence of the M-RNA of IYSV from the US.