A dsRNA molecule of 3.4 kbp was extracted from two great rhododendron samples from Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Sequencing
of this molecule suggests that it represents the genome of an undescribed virus, for which the provisional name rhododendron
virus A (RhVA) is proposed. In phylogenetic analyses, this virus clustered together with southern tomato virus and related
viruses, forming a coherent and distinct clade among dsRNA viruses. RhVA likely belongs to a yet-to-be-established taxon of
viruses with a non-segmented dsRNA genome.
Sequence data were deposited in GenBank as accession number HQ128706.