The nucleotide sequence of the glycoprotein (G) gene of rice yellow stunt rhabdovirus (RYSV) was determined. The G gene is 2158 nucleotides long and contains an open reading frame of 2007 nucleotides encoding a protein with a calculated molecular mass of 75,358 Da. Furthermore, the 5'- and 3'-terminal sequences of the G protein mRNA were defined by the RACE method. Non-viral nucleotides appear to be present at the 5' end of G mRNA. The G protein contains an N-terminal signal peptide of 32 amino acids, C-terminal transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains, ten potential glycosylation sites and four stretches of a-d hydrophobic heptad-repeats.