THE COMPLETE NUCLEOTIDE-SEQUENCE OF RNA-3 OF CITRUS LEAF RUGOSE AND CITRUS VARIEGATION ILARVIRUSES

Complete sequence data for the RNA 3 of both citrus leaf rugose (CiLRV) and citrus variegation (CW) ilarviruses have been determined. The RNAs are 2289 nt (CiLRV) and 2309 nt (CW) in length and both contain the typical Bromoviridae arrangement of two open reading frames (ORFs) which, when translated, code for proteins that correspond to the M(r) 32 000 (32K) putative movement proteins (ORF 1) and the coat proteins (ORF 2) of the respective viruses. The 3' termini of both viruses can be folded to form a secondary structure similar to those reported for other ilarviruses. These are the first complete nucleotide sequences for RNA 3 of members of subgroup 2 of the ilarviruses. The two viruses share substantial homology in nucleic acid sequence, code for identically sized coat proteins and share high levels of identity in the translated products of both ORFs. Although related, these viruses differ sufficiently to be considered distinct. The RNA 3s of CiLRV and CW appear to be distinct from those of other ilarviruses for which comparable sequence data are available and also from the closely related alfalfa mosaic virus.