@article{mbs:/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/vir.0.045435-0, author = "Marklewitz, Marco and Gloza-Rausch, Florian and Kurth, Andreas and Kümmerer, Beate Mareike and Drosten, Christian and Junglen, Sandra", title = "First isolation of an Entomobirnavirus from free-living insects", journal= "Journal of General Virology", year = "2012", volume = "93", number = "11", pages = "2431-2435", doi = "https://doi.org/10.1099/vir.0.045435-0", url = "https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/vir.0.045435-0", publisher = "Microbiology Society", issn = "1465-2099", type = "Journal Article", abstract = "Drosophila X virus (DXV), the prototype Entomobirnavirus, is a well-studied RNA virus model. Its origin is unknown, and so is that of the only other entomobirnavirus, Espirito Santo virus (ESV). We isolated an entomobirnavirus tentatively named Culex Y virus (CYV) from hibernating Culex pipiens complex mosquitoes in Germany. CYV was detected in three pools consisting of 11 mosquitoes each. Full-genome sequencing and phylogenetic analyses suggested that CYV and ESV define one sister species to DXV within the genus Entomobirnavirus. In contrast to the laboratory-derived ESV, the ORF5 initiation codon AUG was mutated to 1927GUG in all three wild-type CYV isolates. Also in contrast to ESV, replication of CYV was not dependent on other viruses in insect cell culture. CYV could provide a wild-type counterpart in research fields relying on DXV and other cell culture-adapted strains.", }