TY - JOUR
T1 - A novel botybirnavirus with a unique satellite dsRNA causes latent infection in Didymella theifolia isolated from tea plants
AU - Ye, Liangchao
AU - Shi, Xinyu
AU - He, Yunqiang
AU - Chen, Jiao
AU - Xu, Qingeng
AU - Shafik, Karim
AU - Fu, Lanning
AU - Yin, Yumeng
AU - Kotta-Loizou, Ioly
AU - Xu, Wenxing
N1 - © 2023 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
PY - 2023/12/12
Y1 - 2023/12/12
N2 - The unique, recently discovered fungus Didymella theifolia specifically infects local varieties of tea plant Camellia sinensis in China, and therefore, the characterization of its mycoviruses is important. Three double-stranded (ds) RNAs (1, 2, and 3, with 6,338, 5,910, and 727 bp in size, respectively) were identified in the avirulent D. theifolia strain CJP4-1, which exhibits normal growth and morphology. Characterization of these double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) revealed that the two largest elements are the genomic components of a novel botybirnavirus, tentatively named Didymella theifolia botybirnavirus 1 (DtBRV1). Conversely, dsRNA3 shares no detectable similarity with sequences deposited in public databases but has high similarity with the 5′-terminal regions of dsRNAs 1 and 2 and contains a duplicated region encoding a putative small peptide. All three dsRNAs are encapsidated in isometric virions ca. 40 nm in diameter, supporting the notion that dsRNA3 is a DtBRV1 satellite. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in combination with peptide mass fingerprint analysis revealed that the DtBRV1 capsid protein consists of polypeptides encoded by the 5′-terminal regions of both genomic components dsRNA1 and dsRNA2. Vertical transmission of DtBRV1 through conidia is efficient, while its horizontal transmission from CJP4-1 to other strains was not detected. DtBRV1, with or without dsRNA3, has no obvious effects on fungal growth and virulence, as illustrated following transfection of the virulent D. theifolia strain JYC1-6. In summary, DtBRV1 exhibits unique molecular traits and contributes to our understanding of mycovirus diversity.
AB - The unique, recently discovered fungus Didymella theifolia specifically infects local varieties of tea plant Camellia sinensis in China, and therefore, the characterization of its mycoviruses is important. Three double-stranded (ds) RNAs (1, 2, and 3, with 6,338, 5,910, and 727 bp in size, respectively) were identified in the avirulent D. theifolia strain CJP4-1, which exhibits normal growth and morphology. Characterization of these double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) revealed that the two largest elements are the genomic components of a novel botybirnavirus, tentatively named Didymella theifolia botybirnavirus 1 (DtBRV1). Conversely, dsRNA3 shares no detectable similarity with sequences deposited in public databases but has high similarity with the 5′-terminal regions of dsRNAs 1 and 2 and contains a duplicated region encoding a putative small peptide. All three dsRNAs are encapsidated in isometric virions ca. 40 nm in diameter, supporting the notion that dsRNA3 is a DtBRV1 satellite. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in combination with peptide mass fingerprint analysis revealed that the DtBRV1 capsid protein consists of polypeptides encoded by the 5′-terminal regions of both genomic components dsRNA1 and dsRNA2. Vertical transmission of DtBRV1 through conidia is efficient, while its horizontal transmission from CJP4-1 to other strains was not detected. DtBRV1, with or without dsRNA3, has no obvious effects on fungal growth and virulence, as illustrated following transfection of the virulent D. theifolia strain JYC1-6. In summary, DtBRV1 exhibits unique molecular traits and contributes to our understanding of mycovirus diversity.
KW - RNA, Double-Stranded/genetics
KW - Phylogeny
KW - Genome, Viral
KW - RNA Viruses/genetics
KW - Ascomycota/genetics
KW - Camellia sinensis
KW - Latent Infection
KW - Tea
KW - Didymella theifolia botybirnavirus 1
KW - mycovirus
KW - botybirnavirus
KW - satellite dsRNA
KW - Didymella theifolia
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85180010675&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1128/spectrum.00033-23
DO - 10.1128/spectrum.00033-23
M3 - Article
C2 - 37962342
SN - 2165-0497
VL - 11
SP - 1
EP - 14
JO - Microbiology Spectrum
JF - Microbiology Spectrum
IS - 6
M1 - e0003323
ER -