FIG 6.
Interrogation of ttsgR_S2, a template with the exact ttsgR 5′ terminus, reveals G3(A/U)4 as a conserved 5′-end motif needed for replication of ttsgR variants. (a) Schematic representation of the ttsgR_S2 template, and four mutants of it, with mutated nucleotides in red. The putative terminal stems formed by eight predicted base pairs, and its disruption by mutations, are also depicted. (b) Northern blotting detection of ttsgR from different templates. (c to g) Terminal nucleotide positions and identities of ttsgR variants arisen from the ttsgR_S2 and S2_mA to S2_mD templates. The sequence data were obtained by sequencing the cloned products of RT-PCR primed with divergent (back-to-back) primers.