Turnip crinkle virus RNA and its translation in rabbit reticulocyte and wheat embryo extracts.

Turnip crinkle virions contain genomic RNA, Mr approximately 1.4 x 10(6), small RNA, Mr approximately 1.5 x 10(5) and a heterogeneous collection of intermediate size. Turnip crinkle virion RNA was translated in rabbit reticulocyte lysates into three major unrelated products of molecular weight 38,000 (p38, the virion coat protein), 36,000 (p36), and 25,000 (p25). The same three products, but in different proportion, were synthesized in wheat embryo extracts. Certain intermediate size RNA fractions translated into p38 and p36 products much more efficiently than did unfractionated RNA. The 1.5 x 10(5) molecular weight RNA did not induce amino acid incorporation. We propose a translation map of the TCV genome, based on tryptic analyses of the major products and of putative read-through proteins.