Comparison of the nucleotide sequence of the messenger RNA for the major structural protein of SV40 with the DNA sequence encoding the amino acids of the protein.

The 16S late mRNA from SV40 directs the synthesis of the major viral structural protein, VP1. We have compared the oligonucleotides in the 16S mRNA with those that would be present in a transcript of the portion of SV40 DNA coding for VP1. The results indicate that a segment of about 200 nucleotides of RNA transcribed from a distant part of SV40 DNA have become linked to the transcript of VP1 codons by a bond resistant to phenol extraction and denaturation in formamide.