Regulation of In Vitro Translation of Bacteriophage f2 RNA

Abstract

The single-stranded RNA genome from bacteriophage f2 (and its relatives MS-2 and R17) contains 3,300 nucleotides, and is the smallest viral RNA to replicate independently in any host. It contains only three known cistrons: one coding for coat protein, another for maturation or “A” protein (a minor component of the virus particle; Steitz, 1968a), and a third for an RNA polymerase (Horiuchi et al., 1966; Gussin, 1966). The general biology and replication of RNA phages have been extensively reviewed (Zinder, 1965; Weissmann and Ochoa, 1967; Weissmann etal., 1968; Erikson, 1968; Spiegelman et al., 1968; Lodish, 1968a).