Analysis of a novel RNA virus in a wild northern white-breasted hedgehog (Erinaceus roumanicus) (original) (raw)

Tombusviruses are generally considered plant viruses. A novel tombus-/carmotetravirus-like RNA virus was identified in a faecal sample and blood and muscle tissues from a wild northern white-breasted hedgehog (Erinaceus roumanicus). The complete genome of the virus, called H14-hedgehog/2015/HUN (GenBank accession number MN044446), is 4,118 nucleotides in length with a readthrough stop codon of type/group 1 in ORF1 and lacks a poly(A) tract at the 3′ end. The predicted ORF1-RT (RdRp) and the capsid proteins had low (31-33%) amino acid sequence identity to unclassified tombus-/noda-like viruses (Hubei tombus-like virus 12 and Beihai noda-like virus 10), respectively, discovered recently in invertebrate animals. An in vivo experimental plant inoculation study showed that an in vitro-transcribed H14-hedgehog/2015/HUN viral RNA did not replicate in Nicotiana benthamiana, Chenopodium quinoa, or Chenopodium murale, the most susceptible hosts for plant-origin tombusviruses. Recently, the discovery of novel viruses has been dramatically enhanced by the use of culture-free viral metagenomics and next-generation sequencing techniques [1]. However, in many cases, this approach does not allow the host species of the novel virus to be identified. In addition to the host origin, dietary sources or other forms of contamination are also possible sources of certain viruses, especially in faecal specimens. The picture is complicated by the fact that some Handling Editor: Massimo Turina.