A novel gemycircularvirus in an unexplained case of child encephalitis

BACKGROUND: Recently, a diverse group of viruses with circular, replication initiator protein(Rep) encoding, single stranded DNA (CRESS-DNA) genomes, were discovered from wide range of eukaryotic organisms ranging from mammals to fungi. Gemycircularvirus belongs to a distinct group of CRESS-DNA genomes and is classified under the genus name of Gemycircularvirus. FINDINGS: Here, a novel gemycircularvirus named GeTz1 from cerebrospinal fluid sample of a child with unexplainable encephalitis was characterized. The novel gemycircularvirus encodes two major proteins, including a capsid protein (Cap) and a replication-associated protein (Rep). Phylogenetic analysis based on the amino acid sequence of Rep indicated that GeTz1 clusters with one gemycircularvirus discovered from bird (KF371633), sharing 46.6 % amino acid sequence identity with each other. CONCLUSION: A novel gemycircularvirus was discovered from cerebrospinal fluid sample of a child with unexplainable encephalitis. Further studies, such as testing human sera for specific antibodies, should be performed to investigate whether gemycircularvirus infects human and is associated with encephalitis.