Varicosavirus

The genus Varicosavirus is a group of related plant viruses associated with the swelling in plant vein tissues. They are negative single stranded RNA viruses. Infection occurs through soil by the spores of the fungus Olpidium brassicae. The genome of the only member of the only species of this genus (lettuce big-vein associated virus (LBVaV)) consists of a bi-segmented linear, single-stranded negative sense RNA. The first segment is about 6350–7000 nucleotides in length; the second, about 5630–6500 nucleotides in length. Virions consist of a non-enveloped rod-shaped capsid, having a helical symmetry of 120–360 nm in length, and a width of 18–30 nm.