ENHANCING EFFECT OF THE 3'-UNTRANSLATED REGION OF TOBACCO MOSAIC-VIRUS RNA ON PROTEIN-SYNTHESIS IN-VITRO

In order to test the enhancing effect of the 3'-terminal untranslated region (3'-UTR) of tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) RNA on protein synthesis in vitro we used a chimeric mRNA construct containing TMV 5'-UTR (Ome ga) and firefly luciferase mRNA. The addition of the TMV 3'-UTR to the chimeric mRNA construct results in a more than 3-fold stimulation of the synthesis of the functionally active protein in the wheat germ cel l-free translation system. We have demonstrated that the proper length of the TMV 3'-terminal part is important for efficient translation; e longation of the TMV tail by 160 vector-derived nucleotides fully abol ishes the stimulation effect of the TMV 3'-UTR in vitro.