The nucleotide sequence of the 3' terminus of soybean mosaic virus (SMV) VA/G1 RNA has been determined by dideoxynucleotide sequencing of oligo(dT) primed cDNA cloned into a pUC19 cloning vector via EcoR1 linkers. One recombinant plasmid, pSMV49, identified by colony and dot-blot hybridization to ¹²⁵I-SMV RNA, contained an insert of 1443 nucleotides and had an open reading frame of 1119 nucleotides terminating 224 nucleotides from the 3' terminal poly(A) tract. The coat protein cistron identified by a glutamine:serine dipeptide cleavage site 792 nucleotides upstream from the termination sequence could potentially code for a 29.8 kDa protein. The amino acid sequence predicted from the nucleotide sequence of this cistron contains regions identical to other potyvirus coat proteins.