title: The complete genome sequence of a novel maize-associated totivirus.
abstract: Deep sequencing of small RNA (sRNA) populations in maize plants from southwest China resulted in the identification of a previously unknown dsRNA virus with a sequence and genome organization resembling that of a totivirus. The complete viral genome is 3,956 nucleotides in length and contains two open reading frames (ORFs) with the potential to produce a ORF1-ORF2 fusion protein through a -1 ribosomal frameshift translation mechanism. ORF1 encodes the putative capsid protein (CP), whereas the predicted product of ORF2 contains motifs typical of an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp). Phylogenetic analysis using the amino acid sequences of putative RdRp fusion proteins showed that the new virus was grouped in a clade together with the totiviruses, suggesting that it is a new member of the genus Totivirus of the family Totiviridae. The virus is tentatively named "maize-associated totivirus (MATV)". Our findings demonstrate that it is feasible to identify totiviruses by deep sequencing of small RNAs.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Sha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Linge
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Qingqing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China. yjqian@zju.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Yajuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xueping
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D036022:Capsid Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D002681:China; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D023061:Gene Order; D016679:Genome, Viral; D059014:High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D012324:RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D019197:Totivirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D003313:Zea mays / Q000821:virology*
chemical_list: D036022:Capsid Proteins; D012367:RNA, Viral; D012324:RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase