Genome sequence determinations and analyses of novel circoviruses from goose and pigeon

The genomes of novel circoviruses from goose and pigeon, which were isolate d using degenerate primer and inverse primer PCR methods, were cloned and s equenced. Comparative nucleotide (nt) sequence analyses showed that the goo se circovirus (GCV) and pigeon circovirus (PiCV) possessed genomes which we re 1821 and 2037 or 2036 nt, respectively, and which had features in common with the genomes of porcine circoviruses types 1 and 2 (PCV1, PCV2) and ps ittacine beak and feather disease virus (BFDV), such that they can now be a ssigned to the genus Circovirus of the family Circoviridae. Common features include the possession of (i) a potential stem-loop/nonanucleotide motif w ith which the initiation of rolling circle replication of the virus DNA is associated; (I!) two major ORFs, located on the virus (VI ORF) and compleme ntary (Cl ORF) strands, which encode the replication-associated protein (Re p) and capsid protein, respectively; (iii) high levels of amino acid identi ty (41.2-58.2%) shared with other circovirus Rep proteins; and (iv) direct/ inverted repeat sequences within the putative intergenic region, On the bas is of nt and amino acid sequence identities, GCV is substantially less clos ely related to BFDV than PiCV is to BFDV. (C) 2001 Academic Press.