Characterization of a Novel Mitovirus of the Sand Fly Lutzomyia longipalpis Using Genomic and Virus-Host Interaction Signatures.

ABSTRACT: Hematophagous insects act as the major reservoirs of infectious agents due to their intimate contact with a large variety of vertebrate hosts. Lutzomyia longipalpis is the main vector of Leishmania chagasi in the New World, but its role as a host of viruses is poorly understood. In this work, Lu. longipalpis RNA libraries were subjected to progressive assembly using viral profile HMMs as seeds. A sequence phylogenetically related to fungal viruses of the genus Mitovirus was identified and this novel virus was named Lul-MV-1. The 2697-base genome presents a single gene coding for an RNA-directed RNA polymerase with an organellar genetic code. To determine the possible host of Lul-MV-1, we analyzed the molecular characteristics of the viral genome. Dinucleotide co

SUBMITTER: Fonseca P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7822452 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature