Negative-sense virion RNA of segment 8 (NS) of influenza a virus is able to translate in vitro a new viral protein

It was shown that full-length virion RNA of segment 8 of influenza virus A/Aichi/2/68 (H3N2) can initiate the synthesis of two major polypeptides with molecular weights of 23 and 13 kD and a minor polypeptide with a molecular weight of 19 kDa, which specifically reacted with the antibodies to the 30-membered peptide of the central part of the NSP protein of influenza A virus. Thus, the genomic-polarity RNA of segment 8 of influenza virus A has a translational template function. These data provide further confirmation of the concept of the bipolar (ambisens) strategy of functioning of the influenza A virus genome.