Cloning of the Nilaparvata lugens reovirus genome: conserved terminal nucleotide sequences and nucleotide sequence of genome segment S10

Abstract

The segmented double-stranded RNA genome of Nila-parvata lugens reovirus (NLRV) was cloned, and the nucleotide sequence of genome segment S10 and terminal nucleotide sequences of the rest of the segments were determined. Genome segment S10 of NLRV consisted of 1430 nucleotides with a single open reading frame extending for 1293 nucleotides from nucleotide 46. It encoded apolypeptide of 431 amino acids with an M r of 49.4K, which was a non-structural protein. The plus-strand RNA of all genome segments had the same conserved trinucleotide 5 ' AGU- and hexanucleotide-GUUGUC 3 ' in the 5'- and 3'-terminal regions, respect-ively. These conserved terminal sequences resembled those found in the segments of the members of the genus Fijivirus. Nilaparvata lugens reovirus (NLRV) found in a healthy colony of the brown planthopper has double-shelled particles approximately 65nm in diameter and 10 genome segments of dsRNA (Noda et al., 1991a). This virus propagates in the planthopper, N. lugens, but not in rice, the only host plant of N. lugens, thus showing biological properties different from those of plant reoviruses that are transmitted by planthoppers. The family Reoviridae comprises nine genera: Orthoreovirus