SEQUENTIAL TRANSCRIPTION OF GENES OF VESICULAR STOMATITIS-VIRUS

Increasing exposure of vesicular stomatitis virus particles to UV radiation caused differential inhibition of the synthesis in vitro of individual mRNA species which code for the viral structural proteins L, G, M, NS and N. The synthesis of each mRNA species showed single hit kinetics. Target sizes for the expression of each gene were derived from kinetic data, and the molecular weight of the mRNA coding for the N protein was found to be proportional to the target size of its corresponding gene. The remaining genes had target sizes larger than expected, ranging up to the molecular weight of the entire genome of the vesicular stomatitis virus. Apparently RNA transcription is initiated at a single site on the RNA genome and individual mRNA species are synthesized sequentially. This analysis allowed the mapping of the genes of this virus in the order 5''-L-G-(M-NS)-N-3''.