Abstract
The animal and vegetal ends of Xenopus oocytes have distinctly different developmental fates. At the molecular level, several maternal mRNAs have been isolated that are localized to either the animal or vegetal hemisphere1. One of these mRNAs, Vg1, is distributed homogeneously throughout the cytoplasm of early-stage oocytes and gets localized during oogenesis to a tight shell at the vegetal cortex of middle and late-stage oocytes2. We have used an in vitro culture system to demonstrate that exogeneous Vgl mRNA injected into middle-stage, but not late-stage, oocytes gets localized in a similar fashion to the endogenous message. Furthermore, translation of Vgl mRNA is not required for the localization of the message itself. These results show that the information necessary to interpret the animal–vegetal polarity in oocytes is present in the naked mRNA transcript.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Rebagliati, M. R., Weeks, D. L., Harvey, R. P. & Melton, D. A. Cell 42, 769–777 (1986).
Melton, D. A. Nature 328, 80–82 (1987).
Wallace, R. A., Misulovin, Z. & Wiley, H. S. Reprod. Nutr. Dev. 20, 699–708 (1980).
Wallace, R. A., Misulovin, Z., Jared, C. W. & Wiley, H. S. Gamete Res. 1, 269–280 (1978).
Keem, K., Smith, L. D., Wallace, R. A. & Wolf, D. Gamete Res. 2, 125–135 (1979).
Danilchik, M. V. & Gerhart, J. C. Devl Biol. 122, 101–112 (1987).
King, M. L. & Barklis, E. Devl Biol. 112, 203–212 (1985).
Krieg, P. A. & Melton, D. A. Meth. Enzym. 155, 397–415 (1987).
Walter, P., Gilmore, R. & Blobel, G. Cell 38, 5–8 (1984).
Colman, A. & Robinson, C. Cell 46, 321–322 (1986).
Hortin, G. & Boime, I. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 77, 1356 (1980).
Walter, P. & Blobel, G. J. Cell Biol. 91, 545 (1981).
Weeks, D. L. & Melton, D. A. Cell 51, 861–867 (1987).
Drummond, D. R., Armstrong, J. & Coleman, A. Nucleic Acids Res. 13, 7375–7394 (1985).
Lawrence, J. B. & Singer, R. H. Cell 45, 407–415 (1986).
Jeffery, W. R., Tomlinson, C. R. & Brodeur, R. D. Devl Biol. 99, 408–417 (1983).
Fontaine, B., Sasson, D., Buckingham, M. & Changeux, J.-P. EMBO J. 7, 603–609 (1988).
Frigerio, G., Burri, M. Boppo, D., Baumgartner, S. & Noll, M. Cell 47, 735–746 (1986).
Nusslein-Volhard, C., Frohnhofer, H. G. & Lehmann, R. Science 238, 1675–1681 (1987).
Driever, W. & Nusslein-Vollard, C. Cell 54, 83–93 (1988).
Driever, W. & Nusslein-Vollard, C. Cell 54, 95–104 (1988).
Kimmelman, D. & Kirschner, M. Cell 51, 869–877 (1987).
Rosa, F. et al. Science 239, 783–785 (1988).
Jeffery, W. R. Devl Biol. 103, 482–492 (1984).
Davis, L., Banker, G. A. & Steward, O. Nature 330, 477–479 (1987).
Krieg, P. A. & Melton, D. A. Nucleic Acids Res. 12, 7057–7071 (1984).
Macdonald, P. M. & Struhl, G. Nature 336, 595–598 (1988).
Pondel, M. D. & King, M. L. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 85, 7612–7616 (1988).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yisraeli, J., Melton, D. The maternal mRNA Vg1 is correctly localized following injection into Xenopus oocytes. Nature 336, 592–595 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1038/336592a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/336592a0
This article is cited by
-
In the right place at the right time: visualizing and understanding mRNA localization
Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology (2015)
-
Cephalic hedgehog expression is regulated directly by Sox17 in endoderm development of Xenopus laevis
Cytotechnology (2008)
-
Subcellular localization of mRNA in neuronal cells
Molecular Neurobiology (1998)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.