9630794 Bujarski The molecular mechanisms of RNA recombination in RNA viruses using brome mosaic virus(BMV) as a model system will be investigated. BMV mutants isolated and characterized during the tenure of the previous award has demonstrated that replication and recombination functions can be unlinked. As an approach to understanding how BMV proteins participate in nonhomologous heteroduplex-mediated recombination, we will 1. analyze the involvement of the 1a helicase domain in recombination, 2. analyze the involvement of RNA polymerase (2a protein) core domain in recombination and 3. study the role of the N-domain of the 2a protein in recombination. %%% Only a limited amount of information concerning the mechanisms involved in non-homologous RNA-RNA recombination is available. Such recombination plays a key role in RNA virus genome plasticity, as it can lead to the generation of new virus strains and species. An understanding of the basic mechanisms of RNA-RNA recombination will provide valuable insight into viral evolution and diversity and could provide important practical information which could be used for applied goals. ***
