COMPLETE NUCLEOTIDE-SEQUENCE AND PHYLOGENETIC CLASSIFICATION OF THE RNA3 FROM CUCUMBER MOSAIC-VIRUS (CMV) STRAIN - KOR

The complete nucleotide sequence (2,222 nucleotides) of the RNA3 in th e cucumber mosaic virus strain Kor (CMV-Kor) isolated from Nicotiana t abacum cv. Burley21 in Korea was determined and compared with those of 7 other cucumber mosaic virus strains at both the nucleotide and amin o acid levels. The RNA3 of CMV-Kor possesses two open reading frames w hich encode the 3a protein (280 amino acids) and the coat protein (218 amino acids). Sequence analysis confirmed the previous biological and serological classification of the RNA3 molecule of CMV-Kor in subgrou p I. Comparison of the nucleotide sequence of CMV-Kor showed that the highest degree of homology was found in the strain Y of CMV (96.4%) wh ile the average similarity to the other subgroup was much lower (76.0% ).