Sogatella furcifera hepe-like virus: First member of a novel Hepeviridae clade identified in an insect

A novel virus was identified in the white-backed planthopper (Sogatella furcifera, Hemiptera: Delphacidae) and tentatively named Sogatella furcifera hepe-like virus (SfHeV). Its genome is a linear, single-stranded monopartite RNA, 7,312 nucleotides (nt) long with a 66-nt 5' UTR, 54-nt 3' UTR, and 28-nt polyA, showing typical genomic features of viruses in the family Hepeviridae, but highly divergent from known members in the family, with amino acid sequence identities of only 18.9-23% (ORF1), 13.1-18.8% (ORF2) and 1.9-11% (ORF3). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that SfHeV was closer to cutthroat trout virus (CTV), but did not cluster with any members of the family. SfHeV is the first hepe-like virus identified in a hemipteran insect and was detected in all developmental stages suggesting the presence of some level of vertical transmission. On the basis of these data, we propose that SfHeV represents a novel clade in the family Hepeviridae and tentatively name the genus Insecthepevirus.