Coinfection of a Fungal Pathogen by Two Distinct Double-Stranded RNA Viruses

Unsegmented double-stranded (ds)RNA viruses belonging to the family Totiviridae persistently infect protozoa and fungi. In this study, two totiviruses were found to coinfect the filamentous fungusSphaeropsis sapinea, a well known pathogen of pines. Isometric, virus-like particles ∼35 nm in diameter were isolated from extracts of this fungus. The nucleotide sequences of the genomes of the twoS. sapineaRNA viruses named SsRV1 and SsRV2 were established. The linear genomes of 5163 and 5202 bp, respectively, are identically organized with two large, overlapping ORFs. The 5′ located ORF1 probably encodes the coat protein, whereas the gene product of ORF2 shows the typical features of RNA-dependent RNA polymerases. The absence of a pseudoknot and a slippery site at the overlapping region between ORF1 and ORF2, as well as the shortness of that region, leads us to suggest that the translation of ORF2 of both viruses is internally initiated. The mode of translation and the genomic organization are similar to those ofHelminthosporium victoriae190S virus (Hv190SV; Huang, S., and Ghabrial, S. A. (1996).Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA93, 12541–12546). Hv190SV thus appears to be closely related to the SsRVs. Interestingly, based on amino acid sequence homology SsRV1 is more closely related to Hv190SV than to SsRV2.