In vivo accumulation of a turnip crinkle virus defective interfering RNA is affected by alterations in size and sequence

Turnip crinkle virus is one of several single-stranded RNA plant viruses associated with defective interfering (DI) RNAs. A complete cDNA copy of a 344-base DI RNA (DI RNA G) was cloned downstream from a T7 RNA polymerase promoter. Transcripts synthesized in vitro were infectious when inoculated with helper virus on turnip plants. Studies of the infectivity of DI transcripts containing deletions, insertions, and single-base changes suggest that (i) in general, only the 5' two-thirds of the molecule can tolerate mutations; (ii) between 52 and 67 bases of terminal 5' sequence are required for infectivity; (iii) nucleotides in positions 68 to 138 are not specifically involved in RNA infectivity; (iv) DI RNA G molecules smaller than 327 bases are not amplified efficiently in plants.