Molecular Characterization of a Novel Alternavirus Infecting the Entomopathogenic Fungus Cordyceps Chanhua

From the paper

Abstract

Abstract In this study, a novel double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) mycovirus, named Cordyceps chanhua alternavirus 1 (CcAV1), was detected in the entomogenous fungus Cordyceps chanhua from China. The complete genome of CcAV1 contained three dsRNA genome segments, dsRNA 1 (3,512 bp), dsRNA 2 (2,655 bp), and dsRNA 3 (2,415 bp). All the three dsRNAs possess a single open reading frame (ORF). DsRNA 1 with 3,512 bp long encoded a putative RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), while dsRNA 2 with 2,655 bp long and dsRNA 3 with 2,415 bp long encoded a hypothetical protein 1 (HP 1) and a hypothetical protein 2 (HP 2), respectively. The RdRp, HP 1 and HP 2 sequences had the highest identity of 66.99%, 49.30% and 56.91%, respectively, to those of Aspergillus foetidus dsRNA mycovirus. A maximum-likelihood phylogenetic tree from RdRp sequence revealed that CcAV1 was placed in the clade of the proposed family “ Alternaviridae ”. Hence, we proposed that Cordyceps chanhua alternavirus 1 is a novel member of the proposed “ Alternaviridae ”.