Another possibility is that the N-term encoding RNA itself serves to function as a translational enhancer by interacting with cellular proteins involved in translation. Indeed, this phenomenon has been previously reported for Norwalk virus, within which a double stem loop structure has been predicted at the 59 end of the genomic RNA [18] . It was subsequently demonstrated that elements within the 59 end of Norwalk virus bind specifically with cellular proteins such as La, PTB and PCBP2 [19] which have all been implicated in IRES-mediated cap-independent translation in the closely related picornaviruses [20] [21] [22] [23] . In this study the role of the JV 59GS was investigated, including its potential to direct capindependent translation initiation. The precise location of translation initiation in JV was also investigated.