The capsid polypeptides of the yeast viruses

The yeast virus is a double-stranded RNA virus with a large genomic dsRNA and one major viral capsid polypeptide. Most strains of yeast have a major and a minor species of the large genomic dsRNA present. The major species has previously been shown to encode a capsid polypeptide with a M_r of about 88,000. We show that the minor species also encodes its capsid polypeptide with a M_r of about 80,000. Unlike all the dsRNA viruses of procaryotes and higher eucaryotes, the yeast virus appears to have only one major polypeptide in its virions. There are some 60 molecules of this capsid polypeptide per particle, consistent with a simple icosohedron of T=1.