Evidence for Three Functional RNA Species in several Strains of Cucumber Mosaic Virus

Abstract

SUMMARY The RNA content of four different CMV strains was investigated. All RNA preparations always contained the four major RNA species described by Kaper & West (1972), while most preparations also contained several minor RNA species. The four largest RNAs were separated by sucrose density-gradient centrifuging and by electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gels. Combination experiments suggest, for all strains, that the genome consists of the three largest RNAs (1 + 2 + 3), while RNA 4 is not required for infectivity. The distribution of RNAs in the capsids could not be established unequivocally, and the situation possibly differs in different strains.