Nucleotide Sequence at the 5' Extremity of Tobacco-Mosaic-Virus RNA. 2. The Coding Region (Nucleotides 69-236)

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Abstract
The 1st A-U-G codon in tobacco mosaic virus RNA is separated from the 5'' terminus by a sequence of 68 nucleotides devoid of internal guanosine residues. The sequence of 165 residues immediately following the 1st potential initiation codon is presented. The characterized sequence contains 4 nonsense codons but none are in phase with the prospective initiation codon. Several lines of evidence, including direct characterization of the portion of the RNA molecule which binds to and is protected by the ribosome in the course of initiation, indicate that the A-U-G at position 69-71 is a functional initiation signal for viral protein synthesis.