THE GENE-4 OF RICE YELLOW STUNT RHABDOVIRUS ENCODES THE MATRIX PROTEIN

The complete nucleotide sequence of the gene 4 of rice yellow stunt rh abdovirus (RYSV) was determined from cDNAs corresponding to the viral genomic RNA. Gene 4 is 913 nucleotides (nt) long, comprising a 17-nt u ntranslated 5' region, a 786-nt open reading frame encoding a polypept ide with a molecular mass of 29,125 Da, and a 110-nt untranslated 3' r egion. Western blot analysis of the RYSV proteins using the antiserum raised against the protein expressed from the cloned gene in Escherich ia coli indicates that gene 4 encodes the M protein of RYSV. Compariso ns of the deduced amino acid sequence of the M protein of RYSV with th ose of other rhabdoviruses revealed no significant homologies. However , it shared a similar basic property and a similar distribution of cha rges with the other rhabdovirus matrix proteins and showed a relativel y closer relationship to the sonchus yellow net virus (SYNV) M1 protei n.