Complete genome sequence of a new poacevirus infecting wild oat (Avena fatua L.) in France

Abstract

Using a high-throughput sequencing (HTS) approach, we report the discovery of a new poacevirus (family Potyviridae) in symptomatic wild oat (Avena fatua L.) plants collected near Bordeaux, France, in June 2023. A nearly complete genome sequence of 10,292 nucleotides (nt) was obtained. The genome encodes a large 3189-amino-acid (aa) polyprotein with all of the expected hallmarks of those of Potyviridae members. The 3' untranslated region (UTR) is 195 nt long, and the 5' UTR, whose sequence is likely missing a few terminal nucleotides despite repeated efforts at 5' RACE, is unusually long (531 nt), like that of triticum mosaic virus (TrMV). Pairwise sequence comparisons and phylogenetic analysis showed that the new virus is most closely related to TrMV and to Poaceae Liege poacevirus, a virus that was identified recently in Poaceae members in Belgium by metagenomics. The common name "wild oat poacevirus 1" (WOPV1) is proposed for this novel virus, which should be accommodated in a new species in the genus Poacevirus. Given that WOPV1 was identified in plants that were coinfected by several other viruses, no conclusions can be drawn at this stage about its potential pathogenicity.