Family: Kitaviridae (Interim Report)
This is a summary page created by the ICTV Report Editors using information from associated Taxonomic Proposals and the Master Species List.
Edited by: Luisa Rubino
Posted: October 2024, updated December 2024
Summary
The family Kitaviridae includes ssRNA(+) viruses of plants (Table 1 Kitaviridae). The genomes are multipartite encoding both replication (RdRP) and movement proteins. The family Kitaviridae was established in 2019 (Master Species List #34).
Table 1 Kitaviridae. Characteristics of members of the family Kitaviridae.
| Characteristic | Description |
| Example | tea plant necrotic ring blotch virus (RNA1: MG781152; RNA2: MG781153; RNA3: MG781154; RNA4: MG781155), species Blunervirus camelliae, genus Blunervirus |
| Virion | Non-enveloped, bacilliform (Figure 1 Kitaviridae) |
| Genome | ssRNA(+), capped and polyadenylated. The number of genome components varies depending on the genus (Blunervirus, 4; Cilevirus, 2; Higrevirus, 3) (Figure 2 Kitaviridae) |
| Replication | Cytoplasmic, dsRNA intermediate, genome and subgenome-sized mRNAs |
| Translation | canonical |
| Host range | Plants, vector (mite) transmission |
| Taxonomy | Realm Riboviria, kingdom Orthornavirae, phylum Kitrinoviricota, class Alsuviricetes, order Martellivirales: 3 genera and 11 species (Figure 3 Kitaviridae) |
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| Figure 1 Kitaviridae. (Left and Middle) Transmission electron micrographs of negatively-stained putative Citrus leprosis virus C virions. Bars: 50 nm (middle image) or 100 nm (left image). Images from Figure 4 of Leastro et al., (2024) "Rescue of a Cilevirus from infectious cDNA clones." Virus Res. 339:199264 under a under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. (Right) Schematic of virion. Image from ViralZone under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, credit: SwissBioPics. |
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| Figure 2 Kitaviridae. Genome organisation of representative members of the genera Blunervirus (blueberry necrotic ring blotch virus, top), Cilevirus (Citrus leprosis virus C, middle) and Higrevirus (Hibiscus green spot virus 2, bottom) in the family Kitaviridae. Boxes indicate open reading frames as annotated on GenBank accessions JN651148, JN651149, JN651150, JN651151 (blueberry necrotic ring blotch virus); DQ352194, DQ352195 (Citrus leprosis virus C); HQ852052, HQ852053, HQ852054 (Hibiscus green spot virus 2). |
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| Figure 3 Kitaviridae. Taxonomy of the family Kitaviridae. |
Derivation of names
Kitaviridae: to honour the Brazilian plant virologist, Elliot Watanabe Kitajima, who contributed to the discovery of viruses in the family; the suffix -viridae for family taxa
Blunervirus: from blueberry necrotic ring blotch virus; the suffix -virus for genus taxa
Cilevirus: from Citrus leprosis virus C; the suffix -virus for genus taxa
Higrevirus: from Hibiscus green spot virus 2; the suffix -virus for genus taxa