In vitro Translation of Beet Necrotic Yellow Vein Virus RNA and Studies of Sequence Homology among the RNA Species Using Cloned cDNA Probes

The four RNA species of a French strain of beet necrotic yellow vein virus (BNYVV) have lengths of 7100, 4800, 1800 and 1500 nucleotides, as measured by agarose gel electrophoresis in denaturing conditions. Translation of purified RNA in a reticulocyte cell-free system revealed that RNA-2 encodes the 22000 mol. wt. coat protein. Cloned cDNA copies of each of the four viral RNA species have been used to show tha