Expression of the c-myc proto-oncogene during development of Xenopus laevis.

We isolated and characterized Xenopus laevis c-myc cDNAs from an oocyte-specific library. These cDNA clones encompass 2.35 kilobases of the X. laevis c-myc RNA and contain the entire coding domain of 1,257 nucleotides of the 419-amino acid-long X. laevis c-myc protein. The 2.7-kilobase X. laevis c-myc mRNA is expressed in the oocyte, maintained in the egg, and is present throughout the early cleavage stages of embryogenesis. At the time of transcriptional activation in the embryo the c-myc RNA levels show a significant decline and then reaccumulate continuously throughout the remainder of premorphogenic development. At the early neurula stage of embryogenesis the pattern of c-myc RNA expression is elevated in the mesoderm with respect to the endoderm and ectoderm. In the adult X. laevis the c-myc mRNA is expressed in some (e.g., skin, muscle) but not all differentiated tissues. The X. laevis c-myc protein migrates as a doublet of 61,000- and 64,000-dalton species. Both species are phosphorylated in oocytes and somatic cells, exhibit extremely short half-lives of less than 30 min, and are localized to the nuclear fraction of somatic cells. By contrast, the oocyte protein shows both cytoplasmic and germinal vesicle distribution and appears to be stable.