Complete genome sequence of a new member of the genus Badnavirus from red pitaya (Hylocereus polyrhizus)

Here, we report a circular double-stranded DNA virus from red pitaya (Hylocereus polyrhizus). The complete genome sequence is 7,837 nt in length and shares 98.7% nucleotide sequence identity with epiphyllum mottle-associated virus (EpMoaV) and 40.4–54.6% with other members of the genus Badnavirus. It has four open reading frames (ORFs), encoding putative proteins of 19.9, 14.8, 225.7 and 14.2 kDa, respectively. The reverse transcriptase (RT)-ribonuclease H (RNase H) region exhibits less than 70.5% nucleotide sequence identity to RT-RNase H of other badnaviruses, and 99.7% to that of EpMoaV. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the virus from this study and EpMoaV form a single group. Consequently, we propose this virus as a new member of the genus Badnavirus in the family Caulimoviridae and have named it “pitaya badnavirus 1” (PiBV1). PiBV1 and EpMoaV should be considered two isolates of a badnavirus that infects members of the family Cactaceae.