Molecular characterization of a novel mycovirus infecting the phytopathogenic fungus Botryosphaeria dothidea.

In this study, we report the molecular characterization of a novel positive-sense single-stranded RNA (+ssRNA) mycovirus from Botryosphaeria dothidea strain G91, which we name "Botryosphaeria dothidea botourmiavirus 1" (BdBOV-1). The complete genome of BdBOV-1 is 2547 nucleotides (nt) long, contains one open reading frame (ORF) potentially encoding an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), and shows a close relationship to mycoviruses of the family Botourmiaviridae. Phylogenetic analysis based on the RdRp sequences confirmed that BdBOV-1 clustered together with the members of the family Botourmiaviridae. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a +ssRNA mycovirus infecting B. dothidea.