Myristic acid, a rare fatty acid, is the lipid attached to the transforming protein of Rous sarcoma virus and its cellular homolog

The lipid bound to p60/sub src/, the transforming protein of Rous sarcoma virus, has been identified by gas and thin-layer chromatography as the 14-carbon saturated fatty acid, myristic acid. The protein can be labeled biosynthetically with either [3H]myristic acid or [3H]palmitic acid. Incorporation of [3H]myristic acid was noticeably greater than incorporation of [3H]palmitic acid. All of the [3H]myristic acid-derived label in p60/sub src/ was present as myristic acid. In contrast, none of the radioactivity derived from [3H]palmitic acid was recovered as palmitic acid. Instead, all 3H incorporated into p60/sub src/ from [3H]palmitic acid arose by metabolism to myristic acid. The cellular tyrosine kinase, p60c-/sub src/ also contains myristic acid. By comparison of the extent of myristylation of p60v-/sub src/ with that of the Moloney murine leukemia virus structural protein precursor, Pr65gag, the authors estimate that greater than 80% of the molecules of p60v-/sub src/ contain one molecule of this fatty acid. Myristylation is a rare form of protein modification. p60v-/sub src/ contains 10 to 40% of the myristic acid bound to protein in cells transformed by Rous sarcoma virus and is easily identified in total cell lysates when [3H]myristic acid-labeled proteins are separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Comparison of the amount of [3H]myristic acid-labeled p60/sub src/ in total cell lysates and in immunoprecipitates suggests that immunoprecipitation with rabbit anti-Rous sarcoma virus tumor sera detects ca. 25% of the p60/sub src/ present in cells