Rescue of rubella virus replication-defective mutants using vaccinia virus recombinant expressing rubella virus nonstructural proteins

The genome of rubella virus (RV) is translated into a polyprotein precusor, p200, of the nonstructural proteins (NSPs). This is proteolytically processed by a viral-encoded protease into two mature products, p150 and p90. p150 contains sequence corresponding to the predicted methyltransferase and protease activities, while p90 has sequence for the proposed helicase and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase activities. Processing of p200 is essential for RV viral replication. RV NSPs are responsible for viral RNA replication, in which a full-length negative-strand RNA serves as the intermediate for the replication of positive-strand genomic RNA and the transcription of subgenomic RNA. Previously we demonstrated that p200 synthesizes negative- but not positive-strand RNA, and that cleavage products p150/p90 are required for efficient production of positive-strand RNA. To determine whether p150 or p90 alone or together is involved in positive-strand RNA synthesis, vaccinia virus recombinants expressing individual NSPs were constructed and characterized. These were used in in vivo rescue experiments to complement replication-defective mutants in virus replication. A protease-inactive mutant was rescued by p200 or p150 provided in trans by using vaccinia virus recombinants. Thus this protease can function in trans. Rescue of cleavage-defective mutant by either p200 alone, or p150 plus p90 but not by p150 or p90 alone suggests that p150 and p90 function together as a replication complex in positive-strand RNA synthesis.