Characterization of a novel victorivirus from Nigrospora chinensis, a fungus isolated from tobacco

Abstract

Here, we characterized a new mycovirus from the fungus Nigrospora chinensis, which was named "Nigrospora chinensis victorivirus 1" (NcVV1). The NcVV1 genome is 5283 bp in length, containing two continuous open reading frames (ORFs), ORF1 and ORF2. ORF1 and ORF2 were predicted to encode a putative coat protein (CP) and an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), respectively. The stop codon of ORF1 overlaps with the start codon of ORF2 by the tetranucleotide sequence AUGA. Phylogenetic analysis based on amino acid sequences of RdRp and CP indicated that NcVV1 clustered with members of the genus Victorivirus in the family Totiviridae. To our knowledge, this was the first report of a mycovirus infecting N. chinensis.