Translational analysis of the killer-associated virus-like particle dsRNA genome of S. cerevisiae: M dsRNA encodes toxin

The M species (medium sized) dsRNA (1.1–1.4 × 10⁶ daltons) isolated from a toxin-producing yeast killer strain (K⁺R⁺) and three related, defective interfering (suppressive) S species dsRNAs of the yeast killer-associated cytoplasmic multicomponent viral-like particle system were analyzed by in vitro translation in a wheat germ cell-free protein synthesis system. Heat-denatured M species dsRNA programmed the synthesis of two major polypeptides, M-P1 (32,000 daltons) and M-P2 (30,000 daltons). M-P1 has been shown by the criteria of proteolytic peptide mapping and cross-antigenicity to contain the 12,000 dalton polypeptide corresponding to the in vivo produced killer toxin, thus establishing that it is the M species dsRNA which carries the toxin gene. An M species dsRNA obtained from a neutral strain (K^?R⁺) also programmed the in vitro synthesis of a polypeptide identical in molecular weight to M-P1, thus indicating that the cytoplasmic determinant of the mutant neutral phenotype is either a simple point mutation in the dsRNA toxin gene or a mutation in a dsRNA gene which is required for functional toxin production. In vitro translation of each of the three different suppressive S dsRNAs resulted in the production of a polypeptide (S-P1) of approximately 8000 daltons instead of the 32,000 dalton M-P1 polypeptide programmed by M dsRNA. This result is consistent with the heteroduplex analysis of these dsRNAs by Fried and Fink (1978), which shows retention of M dsRNA ends, accompanied by large internal deletions in each of the S dsRNAs translated.