Complete nucleotide sequence of Kashmir bee virus and comparison with acute bee paralysis virus

The complete nucleotide sequence of a novel virus is presented here together with serological evidence that it belongs to Kashmir bee virus (KBV). Analysis reveals that KBV is a cricket paralysis-like virus (family Dicistroviridae: genus Cripavirus), with a non-structural polyprotein open reading frame in the 5′ portion of the genome separated by an intergenic region from a structural polyprotein open reading frame in the 3′ part of the genome. The genome also has a polyadenylated tail at the 3′ terminus. KBV is one of several related viruses that also includes acute bee paralysis virus (ABPV). Although KBV and ABPV are about 70% identical over the entire genome, there are considerable differences between them in significant areas of the genome, such as the 5′ non-translated region (42% nucleotide identity), between the helicase and 3C-protease domains of the non-structural polyprotein (57% amino acid identity) and in a 90 aa stretch of the structural polyprotein (33% amino acid identity). Phylogenetic analyses show that KBV and ABPV isolates fall into clearly separated clades with moderate evolutionary distance between them. Whether these genomic and evolutionary differences are sufficient to classify KBV and ABPV as separate species remains to be determined.