Diverse Partitiviruses From the Phytopathogenic Fungus, .

Partitiviruses (dsRNA viruses, family ) are ubiquitously detected in plants and fungi. Although previous surveys suggested their omnipresence in the white root rot fungus, , only a few of them have been molecularly and biologically characterized thus far. We report the characterization of a total of 20 partitiviruses from 16 strains belonging to 15 new species, for which "-" were proposed, and 5 previously reported species. The newly identified partitiviruses have been taxonomically placed in two genera, , and . Some partitiviruses were transfected into reference strains of the natural host, , and an experimental host, , using purified virions. A comparative analysis of resultant transfectants revealed interesting differences and similarities between the RNA accumulation and symptom induction patterns of and . Other interesting findings include the identification of a probable reassortment event and a quintuple partitivirus infection of a single fungal strain. These combined results provide a foundation for further studies aimed at elucidating mechanisms that underly the differences observed.