The polycytidylic acid [poly(C)] tract in foot and mouth disease virus RNA has been located about 400 nucleotides from the 5' end of the RNA by analysis of the products from the digestion of the RNA with RNase H in the presence of oligodeoxyguanylic acid [oligo(dG)]. This treatment produces a small fragment (S) containing the small protein covalently linked to the RNA and a large fragment (L) that migrates faster than untreated RNA on low-percentage polyacrylamide gels, lacks the poly(C) tract as shown by RNase T1 digestion and oligo(dG)-cellulose binding, and is no longer infective. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of fragment S suggests that it is about 400 nucleotides long, in agreement with the size estimated from the proportion of radioactivity in the fragment.Analysis of the RNase T, digestion products of S shows that it contains only those oligonucleotides mapping close to the poly(C) tract that is situated near the 5' end of the virus RNA.Foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV), like end, we sought an alternative procedure for its poliovirus, is a member of the family Picorna-location.viridae. Both of these viruses contain a single-Spector and Baltimore (25) showed that the stranded RNA molecule that acts directly as poly(A) tract of poliovirus RNA could be re-mRNA and contains a tract of polyadenylic acid moved by digestion with Escherichia coli [poly(A)] at the 3' end (1,5, 18, 26). The 5' end RNase H in the presence of oligodeoxythymiof picornavirus RNA is not capped (9, 15, 20); dylic acid [oligo(dT)]. This enzyme is an endohowever, poliovirus RNA has recently been nuclease that specifically hydrolyzes the RNA shown to have a small protein covalently linked component of DNA:RNA hybrids (2). In a simto the 5'-terminal nucleotide, and FMDV RNA ilar approach, the specific removal of the poly(C) also contains a covalently linked protein (8, 17, tract from FMDV RNA by digestion with RNase 19, 24).H in the presence of oligodeoxyguanylic acid In addition to poly(A), the RNAs of enceph-[oligo(dG)] to obtain a 5' fragment is described alomyocarditis virus (EMCV), mengovirus, and in this paper. The size of the 5' end fragment FMDV contain a tract of polycytidylic acid gives a measure of the distance of the poly(C) [poly(C)] 100 to 200 nucleotides long (3, 22, 23). tract from the 5' end of the RNA. This sequence has been located near the 5' end of EMCV RNA by showing that only full-length MATEPIALS AND METHODS RNA bound to both polyuridylic acid-and po-