Nucleotide sequence of the 5'-terminal untranslated part of the genome of the flavivirus West Nile virus.

We have determined the nucleotide sequence of the 5'-terminal untranslated region of the 42 S genome RNA of the flavivirus West Nile virus by primer extension. These analyses make our primary structure determination of this genome, which comprises a total number of 10,960 nucleotides, complete. Some implications of our data concerning the structure of flavivirus-specific nucleic acids and the initiation of translation of WN virus-specific RNA are discussed.