Complete Genome Sequence of Le Blanc Virus, a Third Caenorhabditis Nematode-Infecting Virus

Abstract

Orsay virus and Santeuil virus, the first known viruses capable of naturally infecting the nematodes Caenorhabditis elegans and Caenorhabditis briggsae , respectively, were recently identified by high-throughput sequencing of wild Caenorhabditis strains. By similar analysis of another wild C. briggsae isolate, we have now discovered and sequenced the complete genome of a third novel virus, Le Blanc virus, that is distantly related to Orsay and Santeuil viruses. All three viruses are positive-sense RNA viruses with bipartite genomes that are most closely related to nodaviruses. Identification of a third virus capable of infecting Caenorhabditis nematodes enables comparative analysis of this clade of viruses and strengthens this model for investigating virus-host interactions.