Nucleotide sequence of an aberrant glycoprotein mRNA synthesized by the internal deletion mutant of vesicular stomatitis virus.

The transcriptionally active internal deletion mutant (DI-LT) of vesicular stomatitis virus synthesizes an abnormal mRNA (G*) containing a transcript of the remnant polymerase gene covalently linked to the 3' end of the glycoprotein message (R.C. Herman and R.A. Lazzarini, J. Virol. 40:78-86, 1981). A complementary DNA copy of the 3' end of the G* transcript was molecularly cloned and then chemically sequenced. The results showed that the deletion removed the last 54 nucleotides of the normal glycoprotein gene, the intergenic dinucleotide, and all but the last 258 nucleotides of the polymerase gene. The sequence of DI-LT at the deletion site was compared to that of the transcriptionally inactive DI-LT2 particle.