Persistent vesicular stomatitis virus infection mediates base substitutions in viral RNA termini.

We have sequenced (via a product RNA) the 3' RNA terminus of a defective interfering particle that was generated from the standard virus isolated from a culture of BHK-21 cells persistently infected with vesicular stomatitis virus for over 5 years. By hybridization and RNA sequencing, seven mutations were identified in the 46 nucleotides at the terminus of this defective-interfering-particle RNA. It is likely that these mutations are a reflection of altered protein-nucleic acid interactions that the virus has evolved to maintain its persistently infected carrier state in vitro.