Interference and RNA homologies of New Jersey serotype isolates of vesicular stomatitis virus and their defective particles

Abstract

Three New Jersey serotype isolates of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) were found to produce a population of defective interfering (DI) particles heterogeneous in size and in their RNAs. Only Ogden and Glasgow isolates produced DI particles containing a well-defined major RNA component. Annealing of Ogden mRNAs to Glasgow virion RNA revealed that the two isolates had approximately 24% homologies in their nucleotide sequences. One short DI particle, generated by the Glasgow isolate, contained only approximately 230 nucleotides homologous to the Ogden virion RNA. In spite of this lack of homology, the particle fully interfered with infections by Ogden virions. A previously described Indiana serotype DI particle (HR), which was shown to interfere heterotypically with Prevec's New Jersey virion, also contained only approximately 260 nucleotides homologous to the RNA of this isolate. None of the New Jersey DI particles exhibited the ability to fully interfere heterotypically with Indiana serotype virion infections. DI particles, generated by a given viral isolate, contained nucleotide sequences complementary to a part of their 30 S mRNAs, and the sequences of shorter particle RNAs were always contained in the RNA of the larger particles. In this respect, they resembled the nonheterotypically interfering DI particles of the Indiana serotype.