Recent metagenomic studies have shown that there is a higher diversity of ssDNA viruses in
the environment than previously thought. While some viral families are well characterised,
novel ssDNA isolates discovered with sequence-independent molecular techniques are
often too divergent to fit within the currently established viral taxonomy. Several factors have
contributed to the gap in knowledge, including: the (previously) high cost of sequencing, the
disproportionate amount of research that occurs after a threat is identified, and the use of�…

A large number of novel single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) viruses have been characterised
from various environmental sources in the last 5 years. The bulk of these have been from
faecal sources, and faecal sampling is an ideal non-invasive pathogen sampling method.
We characterised a novel ssDNA from a porcine faecal sample from Cass Basin of the South
Island of New Zealand. The novel viral genome has two large open reading frames (ORFs),
which are bidirectionally transcribed and separated by intergenic regions. The largest ORF�…