Analysis of the complete genome of a virus associated with twisted leaf disease of cherry reveals evidence of a close relationship to unassigned viruses in the family Betaflexiviridae.

The genome of a virus associated with cherry twisted leaf disease (CTLaV, isolate ZH) was sequenced and consists of 8431 nucleotides, excluding a poly(A) tail at the 3' end. Genome analysis shows that CTLaV-ZH represents a new and distinct species and has a genome organization similar to those of unassigned viruses in the family Betaflexiviridae. The CTLaV-ZH genome has five open reading frames (ORFs), with putative ORFs within ORF2 and ORF5, identified as ORF2a and ORF5a, respectively. The AUG start codons of ORF2a and ORF5a are in contexts suitable for efficient translation, with appropriate stop codons in frame.