title: Molecular and biological characterization of deformed wing virus of honeybees (Apis mellifera L.).
abstract: Deformed wing virus (DWV) of honeybees (Apis mellifera) is closely associated with characteristic wing deformities, abdominal bloating, paralysis, and rapid mortality of emerging adult bees. The virus was purified from diseased insects, and its genome was cloned and sequenced. The genomic RNA of DWV is 10,140 nucleotides in length and contains a single large open reading frame encoding a 328-kDa polyprotein. The coding sequence is flanked by a 1,144-nucleotide 5' nontranslated leader sequence and a 317-nucleotide 3' nontranslated region, followed by a poly(A) tail. The three major structural proteins, VP1 (44 kDa), VP2 (32 kDa), and VP3 (28 kDa), were identified, and their genes were mapped to the N-terminal section of the polyprotein. The C-terminal part of the polyprotein contains sequence motifs typical of well-characterized picornavirus nonstructural proteins: an RNA helicase, a chymotrypsin-like 3C protease, and an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. The genome organization, capsid morphology, and sequence comparison data indicate that DWV is a member of the recently established genus Iflavirus.
authors.affiliation: Reparto di Biologia Moleculare, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale Lombardia e Emilia-Romagna, Brescia, Italy 25124-I.
authors.forename: Gaetana
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lanzi
authors.forename: Joachim R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: de Miranda
authors.forename: Maria Beatrice
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Boniotti
authors.forename: Craig E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Cameron
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lavazza
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Capucci
authors.forename: Scott M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Camazine
authors.forename: Cesare
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rossi
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000821:virology*; D036022:Capsid Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D007304:Insect Viruses / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D012328:RNA Viruses / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D020539:Sequence Analysis, Protein; D017423:Sequence Analysis, RNA; D019562:Viral Load
chemical_list: D036022:Capsid Proteins