The S segment of the Germiston virus RNA genome can code for three proteins

The complete sequence of the S segment of Germiston bunyavirus has been determined from plasmids containing S cDNA inserts. The S segment is 980 nucleotides long with the first 15 bases at the 3' end complementary to the first 15 bases at the 5' end. Three overlapping open reading frames (ORF) were identified in the viral complementary RNA strand. The first ORF codes for a polypeptide of 233 amino acids (Mr 26,600) which is the nucleoprotein N. The second ORF codes for a polypeptide of 109 amino acids (Mr 11,800) which corresponds to the NSS protein, also called p12. Following this ORF, in the same frame, a third ORF which could encode a polypeptide of 75 amino acids was identified. Such a polypeptide has not yet been detected in infected cells. The N and NSS proteins of Germiston virus were compared with the corresponding proteins of La Crosse, snowshoe hare, and Aino viruses, and show a high extent of homology.