Maize stripe tenuivirus RNA2 transcripts in plant and insect hosts and analysis of pvc2, a protein similar to the Phlebovirus virion membrane glycoproteins.

The complete sequence of the maize stripe tenuivirus (MStV) RNA2 was determined (3337 nucleotides). RNA2 contains two large open reading frames (ORFs) arranged in an ambisense orientation and specific RNAs of ca. 700 and 2600 nucleotides corresponding to the ORFs were detected in MStV-infected plants and planthoppers. The deduced amino acid sequence of the 23,500 MW protein (pv2) encoded by viral RNA2 (vRNA2) was similar to proteins encoded by the rice stripe (RStV) and rice hoja blanca tenuiviruses vRNA2. Sequence analysis suggested that pv2 is membrane associated. The 93,900 MW protein (pvc2) encoded by viral complementary MStV RNA2 (vcRNA2) was similar to the 94,000 MW protein of RStV RNA2 and to the virion membrane glycoproteins for Phlebovirus members of the Bunyaviridae. The phlebovirus glycoprotein cleavage site was similar to a region in the MStV and RStV proteins suggesting that the tenuivirus pvc2 may be processed analogous to the phlebovirus glycoproteins.