The synthesis and processing of the proteins of Bean pod mottle virus in rabbit reticulocyte lysates

Translation of the two RNA components (B-RNA and M-RNA) of bean pod mottle virus (BPMV) in rabbit reticulocyte lysates resulted in the formation of a specific set of proteins. Among the products formed was a viral protease that catalyzed the cleavage of two precursor proteins coded by M-RNA. The protease showed some specificity for BPMV proteins in that it did not cleave the proteins of cowpea mosaic virus (CPMV), which is related to BPMV. Conversely, the synthesized BPMV precursor proteins were not cleaved by a CPMV protease.