Complete genome sequence of a new victorivirus isolated from the phytopathogenic fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

Abstract

A new double-stranded RNA mycovirus, tentatively named "Sclerotinia sclerotiorum victorivirus 2" (SsVV2), was isolated from Sclerotinia sclerotiorum strain DT-110. The complete genome of SsVV2 is 5135 nucleotides in length and contains two open reading frames (ORF1 and ORF2) that overlap at the tetranucleotide AUGA (positions 2546-2549). ORF1 and ORF2 were predicted to encode a coat protein (CP, 755 amino acids) and an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP, 836 amino acids), respectively. BLASTp analysis identified Sclerotinia nivalis victorivirus 1 (SnVV1) as the closest match to SsVV2, with their RdRPs sharing 75.7% amino acid sequence identity. Phylogenetic analysis based on the RdRP and CP of victoriviruses further support the clustering of SsVV2 with SnVV1. These results confirm that SsVV2 as a new member of the species Victorivirus nijyusani, genus Victorivirus, family Pseudototiviridae.