Mapping of the amino terminus of the H-1 parvovirus major capsid protein.

The amino terminus of VP2', the major capsid protein of the parvovirus H-1, was identified and mapped to the H-1 genome. The protein initiates at the start codon at nucleotide 2797 and is translated uninterrupted to the stop codon at nucleotide 4582. The primary sequence predicts a protein of 593 amino acids (65,500 daltons) with an amino acid composition which very closely matches the experimentally determined composition of the pure protein. The data suggest that the VP2' mRNA has a 5' leader sequence of ca. 650 bases and that protein translation initiates downstream from the sole splice junction.