SPECIFIC BINDING OF HUMAN-IMMUNODEFICIENCY-VIRUS TYPE-1 (HIV-1) GAG-DERIVED PROTEINS TO A 5'-HIV-1 GENOMIC RNA SEQUENCE

We developed an in vitro binding assay to study the specific interacti on between human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) RNA and the Gag polyprotein. Binding of the in vitro-expressed protein to in vitro-tr anscribed RNA was determined bg altered migration of the protein in po lyacrylamide gels. We found that a Gag precursor lacking the matrix do main bound specifically to HIV-1 RNA, while deletion of both matrix an d capsid domains diminished the specificity of binding. Among several regions of HIV-1 RNA tested, strongest binding was seen with the 5'-mo st 261 nucleotides, while antisense RNA from the same region did not b ind.