Molecular characterization of a putative alphapartitivirus from Impatiens balsamina L.

Abstract Two double stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) that likely represent the genome of an alphapartitivirus tentatively named impatiens cryptic virus 1 (ICV1) were recovered from a symptomless Impatiens balsamina L.. DsRNA1 (2008 bp) codes for the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) of ICV1, which shares <83% amino acid sequence identities with the RdRp of other alphapartitiviruses. DsRNA2(1906 bp) codes for the capsid protein (CP) of ICV1, which shares <60% amino acid sequence identities with the CP of other alphapartitiviruses. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that ICV1 is closely related to plant alphapartitiviruses including vicia cryptic virus, beet cryptic virus 1, carrot cryptic virus and white clover cryptic virus 1. Reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction with primers specific for dsRNA1 or dsRNA2 showed that ICV1 is common in I. balsamina from a wide range of places of China.