Ribonucleic acid synthesis of vesicular stomatitis virus: VI. Correlation of defective particle RNA synthesis with standard RNA replication

Abstract

Defective interfering particles of vesicular stomatitis virus inhibit RNA synthesis directed by standard plaque-forming virus when cells are co-infected with defective interfering particles and standard virus. Vesicular stomatitis virus RNA synthesis can be separated into two distinct functions: transcription and replication. To determine whether this inhibition is due to competition for transcriptive or replicative functions, the functions were dissociated from each other either by the use of conditional lethal mutants which are temperature-sensitive in transcription or replication, or by the use of cycloheximide which selectively shuts off replication without affecting transcription. Whenever transcription and replication were dissociated from each other, the synthesis of all the RNA species related to RNA from defective interfering particles of vesicular stomatitis virus correlated with the replicative function only. These results indicate that the synthesis of defective interfering particle-specific RNA is dependent on replicative functions provided by helper standard virus and that the interference with the growth of standard virus by defective interfering particles occurs during RNA replication and not during transcription.