Molecular characterization of a novel fusarivirus infecting the plant-pathogenic fungus Botryosphaeria dothidea.

A novel virus, Botryosphaeria dothidea fusarivirus 1 (BdFV1), was isolated from a fungal strain, SDAU11-86 of Botryosphaeria dothidea, and its complete genome sequence was determined. BdFV1 has a single-stranded positive-sense (+ssRNA) genome with 6,179 nucleotides, excluding the poly(A) tail. The genome of BdFV1 contains two putative open reading frames (ORFs). The first ORF encodes a large polyprotein of 1,544 amino acids (aa) with conserved RNA-dependent RNA polymerase and viral helicase domains. The second ORF encodes a putative 481-aa protein with unknown function. Sequence comparisons and phylogenetic analysis suggested that BdFV1 is a novel mycovirus belonging to the newly proposed family "Fusariviridae". This is the first report of a +ssRNA mycovirus in B. dothidea.