Avian sarcoma virus-transforming protein, pp60src shows protein kinase activity specific for tyrosine

The protein responsible for malignant transformation by avian sarcoma viruses (ASVs) has been identified as a phosphoprotein of molecular weight 60,000 designated pp60src (refs 1--4). It has been suggested that this protein has a functional role in cellular transformation involving the phosphorylation of cellular proteins, for it was discovered that specific immunoprecipitates from ASV-transformed cells that contain pp60src catalysed the transfer of phosphate from [gamma-32P]ATP to the heavy chain of rabbit immunoglobulin. Additional studies involving the cell-free synthesis of the ASV src protein further demonstrated that the presence of the src polypeptide correlated with that presence of a phosphotransferase activity. Our studies, involving the biochemical purification of this protein, have demonstrated that the ASV-transforming gene product, pp60src, is itself a protein kinase. We have purified the pp60src protein approximately 5,000-fold using either conventional ion-exchange chromatography or immunoaffinity chromatography. The resultant partially purified preparations contain a cyclic AMP-independent protein kinase activity. We report here that the soluble phosphotransferase activity of partially purified pp60src results in the phosphorylation of exclusively tyrosine residues in a variety of proteins that serve as substrates.     

Ant navigation: priming of visual route memories

Ants travelling to and fro between their nest and a foraging area may follow stereotyped foodward and homeward routes that are guided by different visual and directional memory sequences. Honeybees are known to fly a feeder-to-hive or hive-to-feeder vector according to whether or not they have recently fed--their feeding state controls which compass direction they select. We show here that the feeding state of the wood ant Formica rufa also determines the choice between an outward or inward journey, but by priming the selective retrieval of visual landmark memories.     

The src gene product of transformed and morphologically reverted ASV-infected mammalian cells.

Morphological revertants of avian sarcoma virus transformed vole cells contain the sarcoma gene product (pp60src) in an enzymatically active form, suggesting that the presence of pp60src protein kinase activity is infussicient to induce morphological transformation. Structural analyses of pp60src from infected vole cell clones suggest that in one of the revertant clones on alteration in pp60src may be responsible for morphological reversion while in a second clone, reversion may result from an alteration in a cell gene product with which pp60src must interact. As these morphological revertant cells are tumorigenic, different cell components are required to interact with pp60src to facilitate the two events.