Roles of the functional domains and conserved residues of the severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus L protein provide insights into the viral RNA transcription/replication mechanism

Dear Editor,The severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus(SFTSV) is an emerging tick-borne pathogen belonging to the genus Bandavirus,family Phenuiviridae, which causes high fatality rates ranging from 12%to 30%(Kim et al., 2013). In the absence of efficacious drugs and vaccines, therapies for SFTS are performed mostly according to the clinical manifestations accompanied by supportive treatment. The SFTSV polymerase protein(SFTSV-L), encoded by its L segment, plays a critical role in genomic replication and transcription.