Genome Characterization and Pathogenicity of Two New Hyptis pectinata Viruses Transmitted by Distinct Insect Vectors

REYES-PROAÑO, EDISON; ALVAREZ-QUINTO, ROBERT; DELGADO-JIMÉNEZ, JOSÉ A.; CORNEJO-FRANCO, JUAN F.; MOLLOV, DIMITRE; BEJERMAN, NICOLÁS; QUITO-AVILA, DIEGO F.

PHYTOPATHOLOGY

AMER PHYTOPATHOLOGICAL SOC

Año: 2022 vol. 112 p. 2440 - 2448

0031-949X

Two new viruses belonging to distinct families, Rhabdoviridae and Geminiviridae, were discovered co-infecting Hyptis pectinata from a tropical dry forest of Ecuador. The negative-sense RNA genome of the rhabdovirus, tentatively named Hyptis latent virus (HpLV), comprises 13,765 nucleotides with seven open reading frames (ORFs) separated by the conserved intergenic region 3’-AAUUAUUUUGAU-5’. Sequence analyses showed identities as high as 56% for the polymerase, and 38% for the nucleocapsid, to members of the genus Cytorhabdovirus. Efficient transmission of HpLV was mediated by the pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum) in a persistent replicative manner. The single-stranded DNA genome of the virus tentatively named Hyptis golden mosaic virus (HpGMV), shared homology with members of the genus Begomovirus with bipartite genomes. The DNA-A component consists of 2,716 nt, whereas the DNA-B component contains 2,666 nt. Pairwise alignments using the complete genomic sequence of DNA-A of HpGMV and closest relatives showed identities below the cutoff (