Abstract
An antiserum specific for the carboxy terminus of p60src, the transforming protein of Rous sarcoma virus, was produced by immunization of rabbits with a conjugate of bovine serum albumin and the synthetic peptide NH2-Tyr-Val-Leu-Glu-Val-Ala-Glu-COOH. The carboxy-terminal six amino acids of this peptide correspond in sequence to that deduced for the carboxy terminus of the p60src of the Schmidt-Ruppin strain of Rous sarcoma virus of subgroup A. The p60src proteins of the several strains of Rous sarcoma virus and the cellular homolog of the viral transforming protein, p60c-src, comprise a polymorphic family of polypeptides. The anticarboxy-terminal serum reacted readily with the p60src proteins of three different strains of Rous sarcoma virus. In contrast, no precipitation of cellular p60c-src could be detected with this serum. This suggests that the viral p60src proteins have identical carboxy termini and that the carboxy terminus of cellular p60c-src may be different from that of viral p60src. The anticarboxy-terminal serum reacted poorly with the subpopulation of viral p60src which is present in a complex with two cellular phosphoproteins. Apparently, the presence of the two cellular proteins interferes with the recognition of p60src by the anticarboxy-terminal serum. It seems likely, therefore, that these two cellular proteins bind to the carboxy-terminal domain of p60src.