Virion RNA of Beet Yellows Closterovirus: Cell-free Translation and Some Properties

Abstract

SUMMARY Virion RNA of beet yellows virus (BYV) is a messenger-sense RNA of about 14500 nucleotides containing no poly(A) or covalently linked protein. In υitro translation of BYV RNA yielded a prominent polypeptide of M r 250000, and some lighter products. None of the translation products was found to be immunoprecipitable with anti-BYV γ-globulins. The synthesis of all the BYV RNA-directed polypeptides was blocked by the cap analogue m7Gpp, thus suggesting the presence of a cap structure at the 5′ end of virion RNA.