Replication of Japanese Encephalitis Virus.

摘要

Gene expression in the flavivirus Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) was studied by three different approaches. Virus-specific RNA in infected cells was radiolabeled in the presence of actinomycin D, and analyzed by sucrose gradient sedimentation and agarose gel electrophoresis. In addition to the 40S genome RNA and a probable replicative intermediate, two small single-stranded species, designated 15S RNA and 12S RNA, were observed. They were shown by oligonucleotide mapping to be subsets of the 40S RNA and different from each other. Their kinetics of synthesis suggested that they functioned in virus replication probably as subgenomic mRNAs, and were not merely breakdown products of 40S RNA. Virus-specified proteins were separated from host cell proteins by radioimmune precipitation and analyzed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and fluorography. A total of 13 different polypeptides were seen, with molecular weights ranging from 98,000 to 10,000. Their total molecular weight exceeded the coding capacity of the virus genome. (Author)