title: Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis identifies candidate members of a new picornavirus genus in terrestrial tortoise species.
abstract: Near-complete genome sequences of seven picornavirus (PV) strains isolated from different terrestrial tortoise species were determined and characterized. The genome organization of the strains proved to be similar and displayed a typical PV layout, and the polyprotein-encoding regions showed low similarity to those of other PVs. The predicted regions of the tortoise PV genomes were related to the corresponding genome parts of viruses belonging to distinct genera, implying modular evolution of these novel viruses. Our results suggest that these tortoise PVs belong to a prototype species in a separate proposed genus in the family Picornaviridae, tentatively called Topivirus (Tortoise picornavirus).
authors.affiliation: Centre for Agricultural Research, Institute for Veterinary Medical Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungária krt. 21, 1581, Budapest, Hungary, fszilvi@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Szilvia L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Farkas
authors.forename: Katalin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ihász
authors.forename: Enikő
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fehér
authors.forename: Dániel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bartha
authors.forename: Ferenc
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jakab
authors.forename: János
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gál
authors.forename: Krisztián
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bányai
authors.forename: Rachel E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Marschang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D043344:Chordata / Q000821:virology*; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D023061:Gene Order; D016679:Genome, Viral; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D010849:Picornaviridae / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017385:Sequence Homology; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral; D014764:Viral Proteins