Binding of the major avian retroviral nucleocapsid protein ASLV NC(p12) to the MAV-1 (myeloblastosis-associated virus) proviral dsDNA and viral ssRNA was analysed using electron microscopy. Specificity of the binding was estimated by special computer programs. The NC(p12) protein bound to MAV-1 proviral dsDNA (clone pAT153--MAV-1), but specificity of this binding was not found by computer evaluation. NC(p12) also bound to nondenatured 70S viral RNA at a rate of 25 +/- 3 molecules per RNA molecule. When this RNA was denatured either before or after the complexing, it showed no binding affinity for the protein. This result implies that preserved secondary structure of the viral RNA was required for the binding.

Institute of Molecular Genetics Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences Praha