Arachis ampelovirus 1, a novel ampelovirus infecting forage peanut

A novel ampelovirus, designated “arachis ampelovirus 1” (ArAV1), was identified through high-throughput sequencing in forage peanut (Arachis pintoi). The ArAV1 genome sequence, confirmed by Sanger sequencing, comprises 12,940 nucleotides and contains seven open reading frames (ORFs), indicating a typical ampelovirus genome structure. The HSP70 homolog, RdRp, and CP proteins were found to exhibit less than 75% amino acid sequence identity to those of other ampeloviruses. Phylogenetic analysis based on amino acid sequences of the HSP70 homolog and the RdRp showed that pineapple mealybug wilt-associated virus 1 is the most closely related to ArAV1, whereas analysis based on CP amino acid sequences revealed that the pineapple mealybug wilt-associated virus 3 is the closest relative of ArAV1. These analyses suggest that ArAV1 is a member of a new species within the genus Ampelovirus, for which we propose the binomial name “Ampelovirus arachii”.