RNA intermediates in potato spindle tuber viroid replication.
Two double-stranded RNA intermediates of viroid replication have been isolated from potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTV)-infected tomato tissue and characterized by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and DNA-RNA hybridization techniques. These replicative intermediates contain monomeric circular or linear PSTV strands complexed with a multimeric complementary RNA strand. Synchronous synthesis of single-stranded PSTV is accompained by a simultaneous marked increase in double-stranded PSTV RNA; thus, in vivo precursors of the characterized double-stranded PSTV RNAs seem to be involved in PSTV replication. A "rolling circle" model for viroid replication on a circular PSTV template can accommodate the double-stranded PSTV RNA species characterized.
Plant Virology Laboratory, Plant Protection Institute, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, Maryland 20705.
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