Fig 1.

Dose-dependent degradation of mRNAs by Vhs. Vhs protein was produced by in vitro translation. Once translation was complete, the reaction [Vhs (1×)] was diluted using naïve rabbit reticulocyte lysate to yield lysates containing serial 2-fold dilutions of Vhs. mRNA degradation reactions were performed using cap-labeled pBK2 target mRNA and rabbit reticulocyte lysates containing 1×, 0.5×, or 0.25× amounts of Vhs or no Vhs (RRL). (A) Aliquots were removed after 0, 3, 9, or 15 min, and the RNAs were electrophoresed through a 1.3% (wt/vol) agarose-formaldehyde gel; (B) the relative amounts of full-length mRNAs were quantified using ImageQuant software and plotted to compare the relative mRNA decay rates.