Genome features

Parvoviruses have linear, single-stranded DNA genomes ~5 kilobases (kb) in length. They are typically very compact and generally exhibit the same basic genetic organisation comprising two major gene cassettes, one (Rep/NS) that encodes the non-structural proteins, and another (Cap/VP) that encodes the structural coat proteins of the virion.

A schematic representation of the canine parvovirus (CPV) genome. NS=non-structural; VP=capsid; PLA2=phospholipase A2; ITR=inverted terminal repeat; Kb=kilobases

Some species and genera encode additional polypeptide gene products adjacent to these genes or overlapping them in alternative reading frames.

The genome is flanked at the 3' and 5' ends by palindromic inverted terminal repeat (ITR) sequences that are the only cis elements required for replication.

Parvovirus-GLUE defines a standard set of genome features for parvoviruses and records the locations of these genome features on master reference sequences.