Absence of poly (A) from the infective RNA of Nodamura virus.

With the exception of phage Qbeta, the RNAs of all the other small icosahedral RNA viruses so far examined contain a poly (A) tract. This tract has been implicated in the infectivity of poliovirus RNA. We have now shown that Nodamura virus, a divided genome virus from which infective RNA can be extracted, does not contain any poly (A) tracts. This evidence with Nodamura virus shows that poly (A) is not a necessary requirement for the infectivity of virus RNA molecules.