Partial sequences of a novel papillomavirus were amplified from a cutaneous lesion biopsy of a raccoon (Procyon lotor), by using PCR with degenerate papillomavirus-specific primers. The Procyon lotor papillomavirus type 1 (PlPV-1) DNA was amplified with long template PCR in two overlapping fragments, together encompassing the entire genome, and the complete PlPV-1 genomic sequence was determined. The PlPV-1 genome consists of 8170 bp, and contains the typical papillomaviral open reading frames, encoding five early proteins and two late capsid proteins. Besides the classical non-coding region (NCR1) between the end of L1 and the start of E6, PlPV-1 contains an additional non-coding region (NCR2) of 1065 bp between the early and late protein region, which has previously also been described for the canine oral papillomavirus (COPV) and the Felis domesticus papillomavirus (FdPV-1). Phylogenetic analysis places PlPV-1 together with COPV and FdPV-1 in a monophyletic branch which encompasses the Lambda papillomavirus genus.The Papillomaviridae are a large family of species-specific viruses that cause proliferations of the stratified squamous epithelium of the skin or the mucosa in a wide variety of host species (Sundberg et al., 2001). Over 90 human papillomavirus (HPV) types have been completely sequenced (de Villiers et al., 2004), and these cause a wide spectrum of genotype-specific lesions (Van Ranst et al., 1992). Only a limited number of non-human PV genotypes have been fully genetically characterized so far (Sundberg et al., 1997(Sundberg et al., , 2001de Villiers et al., 2004), but these cover a broad range of host species, and it is likely that most mammalian and avian species carry their own set of species-specific PV types.Papillomatosis has been documented in a number of carnivores, mainly Canidae and Felidae (Sundberg, 1987;Sundberg et al., 2000). In 1994, the genomic sequence of the canine oral PV (COPV), associated with oropharyngeal papillomatosis in dogs, coyotes and wolves, was characterized (Delius et al., 1994). COPV is the largest of all known PV genomes, and contains a unique second non-coding region (NCR2) between the early and late protein region. Recently, a second carnivore PV genome, containing a similar NCR2, was isolated from a cutaneous lesion of a Persian cat (Felis domesticus PV type 1, FdPV-1) (Tachezy et al., 2002a). COPV and FdPV-1 share a high degree of sequence similarity, and belong to the genus Lambda PV.Papillomavirus infection has been reported in raccoons (Procyon lotor), small carnivores that are widely distributed throughout North America. In one study, 2 of 53 wild trapped raccoons showed proliferative skin lesions that stained positive for PV group-specific antigens (Hamir et al., 1995). Since dogs and raccoons both belong to the suborder Caniformia of the Carnivora, investigation of the relationship between the canine COPV and the raccoon PV would be interesting to test the hypothesis that PVs have co-evolved with their host species.We report here the complete genomic seq...