Walking along the rabies genome: is the large G-L intergenic region a remnant gene?

Rabies cDNA clones, obtained by "walking along the genome" using two successive DNA primers, have allowed the sequence determination of the genes encoding the N, M1, M2, G, and the beginning of the L protein as well as the rabies intergenic regions. Start and stop transcription signals located at the border of each gene encoding a protein have been identified and are similar to the corresponding signals from vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) and Sendai virus. Except for limited stretches of the nucleoprotein, there is no homology between corresponding structural proteins of these three viruses. Rabies intergenic regions are variable both in length and sequence. Evidence for the existence of a remnant protein gene in the 423 nucleotide long G-L intergenic region is presented. This finding is discussed in terms of the evolution of unsegmented negative-strand RNA viruses.