Department of Microbiology, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, 1725 State Street, La Crosse, WI, 54601, USA.
Department of Biology, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, 2100 Main Street, Stevens Point, WI, 54481, USA.
J Gen Virol. 2014 Mar;95(Pt 3):601-613. doi: 10.1099/vir.0.061960-0. Epub 2013 Dec 11.
The freshwater fish Lepomis macrochirus (bluegill) is common to North American waters, and important both ecologically and as a sport fish. In 2001 an unknown virus was isolated from bluegills following a bluegill fish kill. This virus was identified as a picornavirus [termed bluegill picornavirus (BGPV)] and a diagnostic reverse transcriptase PCR was developed. A survey of bluegills in Wisconsin waters showed the presence of BGPV in 5 of 17 waters sampled, suggesting the virus is widespread in bluegill populations. Experimental infections of bluegills confirmed that BGPV can cause morbidity and mortality in bluegills. Molecular characterization of BGPV revealed several distinct genome characteristics, the most unusual of which is the presence of a short poly(C) tract in the 3' UTR. Additionally, the genome encodes a polyprotein lacking a leader peptide and a VP0 maturation cleavage site, and is predicted to encode two distinct 2A proteins. Sequence comparison showed that the virus is most closely related to a phylogenetic cluster of picornaviruses that includes the genera Aquamavirus, Avihepatovirus and Parechovirus. However, it is distinct enough, for example sharing only about 38% sequence identity to the parechoviruses in the 3D region, that it may represent a new genus in the family Picornaviridae.
淡水鱼类蓝鳃太阳鱼（蓝鳃鱼）常见于北美的水域，它在生态和运动鱼类方面都很重要。2001 年，在蓝鳃鱼大量死亡后，从蓝鳃鱼中分离出一种未知病毒。这种病毒被鉴定为一种小核糖核酸病毒[称为蓝鳃鱼小核糖核酸病毒（BGPV）]，并开发了一种诊断性逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）。对威斯康星州水域蓝鳃鱼的调查显示，在 17 个采样水域中有 5 个存在 BGPV，表明该病毒在蓝鳃鱼种群中广泛存在。蓝鳃鱼的实验感染证实，BGPV 可导致蓝鳃鱼发病和死亡。BGPV 的分子特征分析显示其基因组具有几个独特的特征，其中最不寻常的是 3'UTR 中存在短的聚（C）序列。此外，该基因组编码一种缺乏前导肽和 VP0 成熟切割位点的多蛋白，预计编码两种不同的 2A 蛋白。序列比较表明，该病毒与包括 Aquamavirus、Avihepatovirus 和 Parechovirus 属在内的小核糖核酸病毒的一个系统发育簇最为密切相关。然而，它足够独特，例如在 3D 区与 parechoviruses 的序列同一性仅约为 38%，因此它可能代表小核糖核酸病毒科中的一个新属。
