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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Washington, D.C. » National Arboretum » Floral and Nursery Plants Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #427124
Research Project: Detection, Biology, and Genomics of New and Emerging Viral and Bacterial Diseases of Ornamental Plants

Location: Floral and Nursery Plants Research

Title: Create one new species in genus arepavirus, one new species in genus macluravirus, one new species in genus poacevirus and two new species in genus potyvirus (Patatavirales: Potyviridae)

Author
item INOUE-NAGATA, ALICE KAZUKO - Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA)
item Jordan, Ramon
item KREUZE, JAN - International Potato Center
item LI, FAN - Yunnan Agricultural University
item LÓPEZ-MOYA, JUAN JOSÉ - Center For Research In Agricultural Genomics (CRAG)
item MÄKINEN, KRISTIINA - Saga University
item OHSHIMA, KAZUSATO - Saga University
item RUBINO, LUISA - Istituto Di Protezione Sostenibile Delle Piante
item WYLIE, STEPHEN - Murdoch University

Submitted to: Online Publication
Publication Type: Other
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/27/2026
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: More than 2500 known viruses and virus-like agents cause diseases in plants, leading to significant economic losses to crops. Identifying and classifying these agents is critical to detecting, monitoring, and controlling the spread of their associated diseases in plants. The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) Plant Virus Subcommittee decides the taxonomic classification of most viruses infecting plants, ensuring stable and accurate nomenclature. This Taxonomy Proposal submitted to the ICTV proposes accepting five new species in four separate genera in the Potyviridae. These classifications will be helpful to virologists and regulatory officials worldwide to ensure that viruses can be correctly identified and their relationships to other viruses are understood.

Technical Abstract: The family Potyviridae currently has 13 genera and 259 species. The Genus Arepavirus is formed by two species, Macluravirus with 12 species, Poacevirus with three, and Potyvirus with 214 species. No recommendation for changes is proposed for the remaining 28 species in the other nine genera. The Potyviridae Study Group proposes the creation of five new species: one species in the genus Arepavirus (“Arepavirus karnatakense”), one species in the genus Macluravirus (“Macluravirus amomi”), one species in the genus Poacevirus (“Poacevirus avenae”), and two species in the genus Potyvirus (“Potyvirus heraclei” and “Potyvirus shilinense”), totaling 264 species. According to the ICTV Report chapter on Potyviridae, the 13 genera are distinguished based on biological criteria (primarily transmission by specific vectors) and molecular data, with members of different genera sharing less than 46% nucleotide sequence identity. Viruses from different species typically have complete ORF sequences that share less than 76% nucleotide identity and less than 82% amino acid identity. The genome sequences of the five proposed new viruses analyzed showed nucleotide and amino acid identities below the species demarcation thresholds. Phylogenetic analyses of their complete coding regions demonstrated that each proposed species clustered together in their respective genus. Additionally, biological data were available to support their classification as members of a new species.