Nucleotide sequence at the 3' terminus of pepper mottle virus genomic RNA: evidence for an alternative mode of potyvirus capsid protein gene organization.

The sequence of the 3'-terminal 1481 nucleotides of the pepper mottle virus (PeMV) genome has been determined. The sequence was determined by dideoxy nucleotide sequencing of complementary DNA which had been inserted into M13 bacteriophage cloning vectors and was confirmed by sequencing selected regions of PeMV RNA. A discrete open reading frame of 993 nucleotides, ending 333 nucleotides from the 3'-terminal polyadenylate tract, was identified that potentially encoded a 37,669-MW protein. The amino acids predicted at positions 64 through 84 of this putative polypeptide were identical to the amino-terminal 21 amino acids of the PeMV capsid protein ascertained by chemical sequencing. These combined nucleotide and amino acid sequence data suggest that the PeMV capsid protein is encoded by the 3'-most cistron on the genomic RNA and that it may be expressed as a precursor that is proteolytically processed to produce the mature capsid protein.