Nucleotide sequence of rice dwarf phytoreovirus genome segment 2: Completion of sequence analyses of rice dwarf virus

The complete nucleotide sequence of rice dwarf phytoreovirus genome segment 2 (S2) was determined to be 3, 512 nucleotides long with one open reading frame initiating at nucleotide 15 and terminating at nucleotide 3363. The encoded polypeptide was predicted to have 1, 116 residues with a relative molecular weight of 123 kD. Comparison of S2 of two isolates showed they had identical lengths and 97 and 98.3% nucleotide and amino acid sequence identities, respectively. A search of the Swiss-Prot data base (R 22.0) failed to find any proteins with significant homology to the S2-encoded protein. Determination of the nucleotide sequence of the S2 has completed the sequence determination of the genome of rice dwarf virus. Homology searches made for proteins encoded by each of the genomic segments showed that the polypeptide encoded by SI 1 has similarity to histone H1 protein and VP6 of blue tongue virus, indicating it might possess nucleic acid binding properties.