DNA complementary to tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) RNA (cDNA) was prepared by priming reverse transcription with synthetic oligonucleotides. The cDNAs terminated prematurely at many specific sites and no transcripts longer than about 2000 nucleotides were obtained. However, the entire 6395 nucleotide long TMV RNA could be copied into cDNA by specific priming with a series of 13 to 17 residue long oligonucleotides or by non-specific priming with short, 4 to 7 residue, oligonucleotides. A number of different priming methods were used to convert the cDNA into double-stranded DNA (dsDNA). The double-stranded cDNA was recovered by shotgun cloning into M13 and analysed by sequencing. The frequency at which cDNA clones were recovered has been used to compare various cDNA cloning strategies.