Transmission of a dsRNA in bell pepper and evidence that it consists of the genome of an endornavirus

A double-stranded (ds) RNA from bell pepper (BP-dsRNA) cv Yolo Wonder was inherited maternally and paternally after crossing Yolo Wonder with Jalapeno M or Hungarian Wax pepper. Partial sequence information was obtained from two cDNA clones derived from the BP-dsRNA and based on sequence similarity was related to members of the genus Endornavirus. Clones of the BP-dsRNA hybridized with similar dsRNAs from four other pepper cultivars, suggesting that all five dsRNAs tested are related. One of the cDNA clones contained a region that had significant similarity with UDP-glucose: glycosyltransferases from fungi, bacteria, plants, and three endornaviruses. Data presented indicate that the BP-dsRNA is the genome of a distinct species of the genus Endornavirus.