Characterization of a novel circo-like virus in Aedes vexans mosquitoes from Germany: evidence for a new genus within the Circoviridae family.

During the last decades, metagenomic studies expanded the numbers of newly described, often unclassified, viruses within the Circoviridae family. Using broad-spectrum circo-/cyclovirus PCRs, we characterized a novel circo-like virus in Aedes vexans mosquitoes from Germany whose main putative open reading frames (ORFs) shared very low amino acid identity with those of previously characterized circo-/cycloviruses. Phylogenetic and genetic distance analysis revealed that this new virus species defines, with previously described mosquito- and bat feces-derived circo-like viruses, a different genus, tentatively called "krikovirus", within Circoviridae. We further demonstrated that viruses of the putative krikovirus genus all share a genomic organization which is unique among Circoviridae. Further investigations are needed to determine the host range, tissue tropism and transmission route(s). This report increases the current knowledge of the genetic diversity and evolution of the members of the Circoviridae family.