Analysis of a novel RNA virus in a wild northern white-breasted hedgehog (Erinaceus roumanicus)

Arch Virol. 2019 Dec;164(12):3065-3071. doi: 10.1007/s00705-019-04414-7. Epub 2019 Sep 23.

Abstract

Tombusviruses are generally considered plant viruses. A novel tombus-/carmotetravirus-like RNA virus was identified in a faecal sample and blood and muscle tissues from a wild northern white-breasted hedgehog (Erinaceus roumanicus). The complete genome of the virus, called H14-hedgehog/2015/HUN (GenBank accession number MN044446), is 4,118 nucleotides in length with a readthrough stop codon of type/group 1 in ORF1 and lacks a poly(A) tract at the 3' end. The predicted ORF1-RT (RdRp) and the capsid proteins had low (31-33%) amino acid sequence identity to unclassified tombus-/noda-like viruses (Hubei tombus-like virus 12 and Beihai noda-like virus 10), respectively, discovered recently in invertebrate animals. An in vivo experimental plant inoculation study showed that an in vitro-transcribed H14-hedgehog/2015/HUN viral RNA did not replicate in Nicotiana benthamiana, Chenopodium quinoa, or Chenopodium murale, the most susceptible hosts for plant-origin tombusviruses.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Feces / virology
  • Genome Size
  • Genome, Viral
  • Hedgehogs / virology*
  • Host Specificity
  • Muscles / virology
  • Phylogeny
  • Sequence Analysis, RNA / methods*
  • Tombusvirus / classification*
  • Tombusvirus / genetics
  • Tombusvirus / isolation & purification