Analysis of DNAs associated with coconut foliar decay disease implicates a unique single-stranded DNA virus representing a new taxon.

The unique ecology, pathology and undefined taxonomy of coconut foliar decay virus (CFDV), found associated with coconut foliar decay disease (CFD) in 1986, prompted analyses of old virus samples by modern methods. Rolling circle amplification and deep sequencing applied to nucleic acid extracts from virion preparations and CFD-affected palms identified twelve distinct circular DNAs, eleven of which had a size of about 1.3 kb and one of 641 nt.