Newman J F, Piatti P G, Ryan M D, Brown F
US Dept of Agriculture, Plum Island Animal Disease Center, Greenport, NY 11944.
Trends Microbiol. 1994 Dec;2(12):494-7. doi: 10.1016/0966-842x(94)90655-6.
Foot-and-mouth disease virus and poliovirus each contain several minor polypeptides, in addition to the four structural proteins. One of these, the viral RNA polymerase, can also act as a nuclease, hydrolysing the RNA and thus destroying viral infectivity. It is tightly bound to the RNA and may be the packaging signal for assembly of the particle.