Primary structure of leader RNA and nucleoprotein genes of the rabies genome: segmented homology with VSV

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Abstract
We have determined the nucleotide sequence of the 3'region of the rabies genome (PV strain). This work is a first step in a project aimed at establishing the complete primary structure. From the 3'nucleotide sequence of the RNA genome, an octadecanucleotide complementary to the 3'extremity was constructed and used to prime cDNA synthesis. Two overlapping recombinant cDNA clones hybridizing with the nucleoprotein mRNA (NmRNA) were isolated and sequenced. The 1500 first nucleotides of the rabies genome cover two transcriptional units: the leader RNA and the NmRNA which was shown to be initiated around residue 59 by S1 nuclease protection experiments. Comparison between rabies PV and CVS strains up to residue 180 suggests a rapid evolution in the leader region. Studies of the sequence relationships between the 3'regions of two Rhabdoviruses, rabies virus and Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (VSV), demonstrate that there is a segmented homology. Stretches of highly conserved amino acids possibly involved in the interaction with the RNA genome were observed in the N protein, despite a wide divergence in the remaining sequence. In addition, the high homology between the transcription start and stop signals reflects the conservation of a similar transcriptional mechanism in these two non segmented negative strand RNA viruses.