In vitro synthesis of reovirus genomic segments.

Abstract

Using a method for labeling RNA with heavy nucleoside 5′-triphosphates, it was observed that the large particulate fraction isolated from reovirus-infected cells mediated iv vitro the synthesis of the three size classes of reovirus double-stranded RNA segments by elongating and terminating minus strand RNA whose synthesis had been initiated in the infected cells. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that each segment of reovirus plus strand template has an individual initiation site for the synthesis of minus strand RNA.