Molecular Identification of a Novel Iflavirus in Brown-Spotted Pitvipers (Protobothrops Mucrosquamatus)

Abstract Background: Iflaviridae is a family of small non-enveloped viruses with monopartite, positive-stranded RNA genomes, which are identified in arthropod hosts, primarily infecting insect species. Herein, we firstly identify the sequence of an iflavirus (YB-PMP20) found in brown-spotted pitvipers in China. Results: The sequence of YB-PMP20 showed high identity to the sequences of Hubei picorna-like virus (HUPV) (99.2% in nt), Vespa velutina-associated iflavirus like virus (VVAIV) (58.6% in nt) and Lygus lineolaris virus (LyIV-1) (46.6% in nt) in nucleotides encoding polyproteins. It contained a single large ORF (304–9291 nt) encoding 2996 amino acids. The deduced amino acid sequences were compared with those of iflavirus. Helicase, protease and the RdRp domain were found to be located at the 3´ end, and structural genes (VP1, VP2 and VP3) were found to be located at the 5´ end. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that YB-PMP20 belongs to the iflavirus cluster, and is similar to HUPV, LyIV-1 and VVAIV. Conclusion: The present study described the genetic characterization of a PmIFV strain in brown-spotted pitvipers. Our genomic data extend knowledge of the diversity of viruses in snakes.