THE NUCLEOTIDE-SEQUENCE OF SATELLITE ST AUGUSTINE DECLINE VIRUS

The complete nucleotide sequence of the satellite virus of St. Augusti ne decline virus (sSADV) has been determined. It comprises 824 nucleot ides and contains a single, large open reading frame that corresponds to the coat protein of the satellite virus, as confirmed by direct ami no acid sequencing. The genome contains two other potential open readi ng frames, similar to the organization of satellite Panicum mosaic vir us (sPMV). These two satellite viruses share significant sequence homo logy at both the nucleotide and the amino acid levels; there are 36 nu cleotide differences, resulting in five amino acid changes. Other than the close homology with sPMV, there is no homology with the known sat ellite viruses at the nucleotide or amino acid level, while there is s ome similarity in the hydropathy profiles of the coat proteins of thes e viruses.