Stimulation by aurintricarboxylic acid of tobacco mosaic virus-specific RNA synthesis and production of informosome-like infection-specific ribonucleoprotein

Abstract

It was shown that aurintricarboxylic acid (ATA), a well-known inhibitor of protein synthesis, markedly stimulates the synthesis of tobacco mosaic virus (TMV)-specific RNA species of the intermediate (I) class (apparent molecular weights 1.1–1.3 × 10 6 and 0.6–0.8 × 10 6). No stimulation by ATA of full-length genomic TMV RNA or the subgenomic TMV RNA coding for TMV coat protein was detected. Informosome-like infection-specific ribonucleoprotein (vRNP) particles different from mature TMV particles were found in the TMV-infected cells (Yu. L. Dorokhov, N. M. Alexandrova, N. A. Miroshnichenko, and J. G. Atabekov, 1983, Virology 127, 237–252). It is shown here that [ 3H]uridine incorporation into vRNP RNAs was markedly stimulated in the presence of ATA. vRNP can be released from the TMV-specific polyribosomes by EDTA treatment, which suggests that it is involved in the translation process. The results of the pulse-chase experiments (including those in which TMV RNA synthesis is blocked by 2-thiouracil) suggest that vRNP does not serve as a precursor for mature virion.