ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the five known structural genes of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), Indiana serotype, are arranged within the viral genome in the order 3'–N–NS–M–G–L–5'. In addition, a nucleotide sequence has been located at the extreme 3' terminus of the genome which codes for a small transcript, the "leader" RNA. Strictly speaking, this nucleotide sequence does not constitute a gene, but its position in the viral RNA will be discussed. The evidence for the locations of the structural genes and the leader RNA is based on two separate approaches are transcriptional and physical mapping. Transcriptional mapping means determining the spatial relationship between genes and their promotor sites. As well as being reflected in the UV target-sizes of the genes, sequential transcription from a single promotor site has two other consequences for RNA synthesis. If transcription is synchronized, the products of proximal genes will appear sooner and perhaps in greater molar abundance than those of more distal genes.
