Complete genome sequencing of Piper yellow mottle virus infecting black pepper, betelvine, and Indian long pepper.

The complete genome of the Piper yellow mottle virus (PYMoV), a Badnavirus belonging to the family Caulimoviridae, was sequenced from three naturally infected hosts namely, black pepper, betelvine, and Indian long pepper. The genome length of the three virus strains (one from each of the three host species) varied from 7,559 to 7,584 nucleotides, and all the three strains possessed four open reading frames (ORFs) I to IV that potentially encode proteins of 15.67, 17.08, 218.6, and 17.22 kDa, respectively. ORF III encodes a polyprotein consisting of viral movement protein, trimeric dUTPase, zinc finger, aspartic protease, reverse transcriptase, and RNase H whereas ORF I, II, and IV encode proteins of unknown functions. The complete genome sequences at the nucleotide level were 89-99 % identical with one available sequence of PYMoV and 39-56 % identical with other badnaviruses, indicating that all three are strains of PYMoV. Nucleotide and amino acid sequences of ORF I-IV and of the intergenic region (IR) were 80-100 % identical among PYMoV strains. Phylogenetic analysis of ORF III amino acid sequences showed the PYMoV strains forming a distinct cluster well separated from other badnaviruses. Among other badnaviruses, Fig badnavirus 1 (FBV-1) was the one most closely related to PYMoV.