Orsay virus

The Orsay virus is a single-stranded, positive-sense RNA virus that infects Caenorhabditis elegans nematodes. It resembles nodaviruses, but has yet to be formally classified.

Orsay virus has a single-stranded, positive-sense RNA genome consisting of two segments, termed RNA1 and RNA2. The RNA1 segment encodes an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP) of 982 amino acids.[1] The RNA2 segment has two open reading frames (ORFs) that codes for a capsid protein and a non-structural protein with unknown function.[1] The virus is composed of two structural domains, a shell (S) and a protrusion (P) domain.

The Orsay virus was discovered in 2011 in Caenorhabditis elegans nematodes in rotting fruit in Orsay, France. Just before the time of the discovery, standardized methods were developed for the wild isolation of nematodes. Using these methods, Caenorhabditis briggsae and C. elegans nematodes were found that displayed abnormalities in the intestines, such as extensive convolutions of the apical intestinal border.[2] Dead, infected nematodes were added to healthy nematodes, which led to infection, suggesting that a virus was the cause of the intestinal abnormalities. Electron microscopy showing viral particles confirmed the role of a virus.[2]

On infection of a susceptible nematode, the viral particles are mainly localized to intestinal cells.[3] The small structure of the Orsay virus, its resemblance to the well-studied nodaviruses and its tropism to intestinal cells of C. elegans, together with its lack of infectivity for humans, make the Orsay virus a useful virus for studying host–virus interactions.

References

  1. 1 2 Guo, Y.R., et al., Crystal structure of a nematode-infecting virus. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2014. 111(35): p. 12781-12786.
  2. 1 2 Félix, M.-A., et al., Natural and experimental infection of Caenorhabditis nematodes by novel viruses related to nodaviruses. PLoS Biol, 2011. 9(1): p. e1000586.
  3. ↑ Franz, C.J., et al., Orsay, Santeuil and Le Blanc viruses primarily infect intestinal cells in Caenorhabditis nematodes. Virology, 2014. 448: p. 255-264.
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