Ribonucleic acid synthesis of vesicular stomatitis virus: III. Multiple complementary messenger RNA molecules

Abstract

Infection of Chinese hamster ovary cells by vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), in the absence of any detectable interference by defective particles, leads to a replacement of host polyribosomes by a distinct class of smaller polyribosomes. These small polyribosomes synthesize only virus-specific polypeptides and are as active in protein synthesis as polyribosomes from uninfected cells. The 28 S and 13 S single-stranded RNA species made during viral replication are associated with the viral polyribosomes after separation of the polyribosomes by rate zonal and isopycnic centrifugations. Release of the 28 S and 13 S RNA species from polyribosomes by EDTA and hybridization of these RNA species to virion RNA shows that they have nucleotide sequences which are complementary to those of the virion RNA. The finding of multiple pieces of messenger RNA, all smaller than 40 S virion RNA, suggests that VSV polypeptides are synthesized from individual molecules of RNA, rather than from one large messenger RNA. These studies also demonstrate the presence of newly synthesized nucleocapsid-like structures which contain heterogeneous 28–40 S RNA.