A 69-kDa RNA-binding protein from Xenopus oocytes recognizes a common motif in two vegetally localized maternal mRNAs

Vg1 mRNA, a maternal message encoding a member of the transforming growth factor beta superfamily, undergoes localization to the vegetal cortex of Xenopus laevis oocytes during a narrow period of oogenesis. A 340-nucleotide sequence has been identified in Vg1 RNA that directs its vegetal localization [Mowry, K. L. & Melton, D. A. (1992) Science 255, 991-994]. To understand how cis- and trans-acting factors are involved in Vg1 mRNA localization, we have looked for specific interactions in vitro between oocyte proteins and Vg1 mRNA. S100 extracts of late-stage oocytes contain a protein-binding activity that protects specific regions of labeled Vg1 mRNA from degradation by RNase T1. The use of different regions of Vg1 RNA in competition reactions reveals two binding sites, both in the first half of the 3' untranslated region of Vg1 message. UV crosslinking predominantly labels a 69-kDa protein; saturation analysis and competitor studies indicate that this protein binds with a high affinity to the down-stream site, which corresponds to the 340-nucleotide vegetal localization sequence. Binding to this region is inhibited by another vegetally localized message, transforming growth factor beta 5 but is not inhibited by an animally localized RNA, An2. These data indicate that vegetally localized mRNAs share a binding motif that helps them achieve their intracellular distribution through specific RNA-protein interactions.