Identification of a novel alphaendornavirus from Lonicera maackii

A new alphaendornavirus, tentatively named “Lonicera maackii alphaendornavirus” (LmEV), was identified in a Lonicera maackii plant in Beijing, China, with leaf abnormality of interveinal chlorosis, and its complete genome sequence was determined using small-RNA deep sequencing. The RNA genome of LmEV is 16,176 nt in length and contains a large open reading frame encoding a polyprotein of 5363 aa with conserved domains including a cysteine-rich region, a viral helicase, and an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. Sequence comparisons showed that LmEV shared the highest nt and aa sequence identity with Vicia faba alphaendornavirus (VfEV) of the genus Alphaendornavirus . In phylogenetic analysis of the RdRp aa sequence LmEV clustered with members of the genus Alphaendornavirus, closest to VfEV. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a novel alphaendornavirus identified in Lonicera maackii. Its effect on the host plant, if any, remains to be investigated.