TY - JOUR T1 - Complete coding sequence of a novel picorna-like virus in a blackbird infected with Usutu virus. JF - Arch Virol Y1 - 2018 A1 - Steven Van Borm A1 - Mieke Steensels A1 - Elisabeth Mathijs A1 - Kwe Claude Yinda A1 - Jelle Matthijnssens A1 - Bénédicte Lambrecht KW - Animals KW - Belgium KW - Bird Diseases KW - Chromosome Mapping KW - Coinfection KW - Flavivirus KW - Flavivirus Infections KW - Genome, Viral KW - Open Reading Frames KW - Passeriformes KW - Phylogeny KW - Picornaviridae KW - Picornaviridae Infections KW - Plants KW - whole genome sequencing AB -

Using random high-throughput RNA sequencing, the complete coding sequence of a novel picorna-like virus (a 9,228-nt contig containing 212,202 reads) was determined from a blackbird (Turdus merula) infected with Usutu virus. This sequence shares only 36% amino acid sequence identity with its closest homolog, arivirus 1, (an unclassified member of the order Picornavirales), and shares its dicistronic genome arrangement. The new virus was therefore tentatively named "blackbird arilivirus" (ari-like virus). The nearly complete genome sequence consists of at least 9,228 nt and contains two open reading frames (ORFs) encoding the nonstructural polyprotein (2235 amino acids) and structural polyprotein (769 amino acids). Two TaqMan RT-qPCR assays specific for ORF1 confirmed the presence of high levels of this novel virus in the original sample. Nucleotide composition analysis suggests that blackbird arilivirus is of dietary (plant) origin.

VL - 163 CP - 6 M3 - 10.1007/s00705-018-3761-6 ER -