Primary structure, gene organization and polypeptide expression of poliovirus RNA

Abstract
The primary structure of the poliovirus genome was determined. The RNA molecule is 7433 nucleotides long, polyadenylated at the 3'' terminus, and covalently linked to a small protein (VPg) at the 5'' terminus. An open reading frame of 2207 consecutive triplets spans over 89% of the nucleotide sequence and codes for the viral polyprotein NCVPOO. Twelve viral polypeptides were mapped by amino acid sequence analysis and were proteolytic cleavage products of the polyprotein, cleavages occurring predominantly at Gln-Gly pairs.