Subfamily: Alpharhabdovirinae
Genus: Amplylivirus
Distinguishing features
Viruses assigned to the genus Amplylivirus form a distinct monophyletic group based on well-supported Maximum Likelihood or Maximum Clade Credibility trees inferred from complete L sequences. Viruses assigned to the genus have been detected in amphibians. Amplyliviruses most closely related to replyliviruses, which have been detected in reptiles, and lyssaviruses, which infect mammals.
Virion
Morphology
Virion morphology is unknown.
Nucleic acid
Amplylivirus genomes consist of a single molecule of negative-sense, single-stranded RNA of approximately 12.1–12.5 kb.
Proteins
Amplylivirus N, P, M, G and L proteins share sequence homology and/or structural characteristics with the cognate proteins of other rhabdoviruses.
Genome organisation and replication
The genomes include only the five genes (N, P, M, G and L) encoding the structural proteins. Unlike the related replyliviruses and lyssaviruses, they lack a long untranslated region (ψ) between the G and L genes (Figure 1 Amplylivirus).
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| Figure 1 Amplylivirus. Schematic representation of amplylivirus genomes shown in reverse (positive-sense) polarity. The genomes contains only five long open reading frames (ORFs) in the N, P, M, G and L genes (open arrows). |
Biology
Frog lyssa-like virus 1 (species Amplylivirus cinereus) was discovered in the brain of the American green tree frog (Hyla cinerea or Dryophytes cinereus in different classifications) which has a natural distribution in southern parts of North America and the Caribbean. Boana pugnax lyssa-like virus 1 (species Amplylivirus pugnax) was detected in Chirique-Flusse tree frogs (Boana pugnax) collected in Colombia. No isolates of the viruses have yet been reported.
Species demarcation criteria
Viruses assigned to different species within the genus have several of the following characteristics: A) minimum amino acid sequence divergence of 10% in the N proteins; B) minimum amino acid sequence divergence of 10% in the L proteins; C) minimum amino acid sequence divergence of 15% in the G proteins; D) significant differences in genome organisation as evidenced by numbers and locations of ORFs; E) they can be distinguished in virus neutralisation tests; and F) they occupy different ecological niches as evidenced by differences in vertebrate hosts and or vectors.