Genome Analysis and Pathobiology of Cassava-Infecting Torradoviruses Containing a Putative Maf/HAM1 Pyrophosphatase Domain.

Next generation sequencing has been used to identify and characterize the full genome sequence of a cassava-infecting torradovirus, revealing the presence of a Maf/HAM1 domain downstream of the RNA-dependent RNA-polymerase (RdRp) domain in RNA1 in all isolates sequenced. A similar domain is also found in unrelated potyvirids infecting Euphorbiaceae hosts in the Americas and cassava in Africa. Even though cassava torrado-like virus (CsTLV) could not be mechanically transmitted to a series of herbaceous hosts, it can be efficiently transmitted by bud graft-inoculation to different cassava landraces.