Prevalent RNA sequences of mitochondrial origin in sea urchin embryos

SpSoxB1, a maternally encoded transcription factor asymmetrically distributed among early sea urchin blastomeres

We have identified a Sox family transcription factor, SpSoxB1, that is asymmetrically distributed among blastomeres of the sea urchin embryo during cleavage, beginning at 4th cleavage. SpSoxB1 interacts with a cis element that is essential for transcription of SpAN, a gene that is activated cell autonomously and expressed asymmetrically along the animal-vegetal axis. In vitro translated SpSoxB1 forms a specific complex with this cis element whose mobility is identical to that formed by a protein in nuclear extracts. An anti-SpSoxB1 rabbit polyclonal antiserum specifically supershifts this DNA-protein complex and recognizes a single protein on immunoblots of nuclear proteins that comigrates with in vitro translated SpSoxB1. Developmental immunoblots of total proteins at selected early developmental stages, as well as EMSA of egg and 16-cell stage proteins, show that SpSoxB1 is present at low levels in unfertilized eggs and progressively accumulates during cleavage. SpSoxB1 maternal transcripts are uniformly distributed in the unfertilized egg and the protein accumulates to similar, high concentrations in all nuclei of 4- and 8-cell embryos. However, at fourth cleavage, the micromeres, which are partitioned by asymmetric division of the vegetal 4 blastomeres, have reduced nuclear levels of the protein, while high levels persist in their sister macromeres and in the mesomeres. During cleavage, the uniform maternal SpSoxB1 transcript distribution is replaced by a zygotic nonvegetal pattern that reinforces the asymmetric SpSoxB1 protein distribution and reflects the corresponding domain of SpAN mRNA accumulation at early blastula stage (approximately 150 cells). The vegetal region lacking nuclear SpSoxB1 gradually expands so that, after blastula stage, only cells in differentiating ectoderm accumulate this protein in their nuclei. The results reported here support a model in which SpSoxB1 is a major regulator of the initial phase of asymmetric transcription of SpAN in the nonvegetal domain by virtue of its distribution at 4th cleavage and is subsequently an important spatial determinant of expression in the early blastula. This factor is the earliest known spatially restricted regulator of transcription along the animal-vegetal axis of the sea urchin embryo.

Isolation of carp cDNA clones, representing developmentally-regulated genes, using a subtractive-hybridization strategy

A subtractive-hybridization technique, combined with differential screenings and subsequent whole mount in situ hybridization (ISH) reactions, was used to isolate novel cDNA clones representing developmentally-regulated genes of carp. Small-scale differential screenings of an oocyte and a segmentation-stage cDNA library using oocyte-specific and segmentation stage-specific enriched probes, yielded 75 positive clones. ISH screening showed that 65% (15) of the oocyte-stage clones and 50% (26) of the segmentation-stage clones were indeed stage-specific. Partial sequence analysis suggests that approximately 65% of the 41 stage-specific clones represent novel genes. In addition, an Otxl clone was isolated. Two novel clones and the Otxl clone are of special interest for developmental studies. The clones represent genes that are locally expressed during embryonic development. The expression patterns of Otxl and one of the novel clones suggest functions in specification of the anterior-posterior axis. The three clones provide molecular markers for the study of gastrulation and the patterning of the a-p axis in teleosts.

Analysis of competence in cultured sea urchin micromeres

Sea urchin embryo micromeres form the primary mesenchyme, the skeleton-producing cells of the embryo. Almost nothing is known about nature and timing of the embryonic cues which induce or initiate spicule formation by these cells. A related question concerns the competence of the micromeres to respond to the cues. To examine competence in this system we have exposed cultured sea urchin micromeres to an inducing medium containing horse serum for various periods of time and have identified a period when micromeres are competent to respond to serum and form spicules. This window, between 30 and 50 h after fertilization, corresponds to the time when mesenchyme cells in vivo are aggregating and beginning to form the syncytium in which the spicule will be deposited. The loss of competence after 50 h is not due to impaired cell health since protein synthesis at this time is not significantly different from controls. Likewise the accumulation of a spicule matrix mRNA (SM 50) and a cell surface glycoprotein (msp 130), both indices of micromere/mesenchyme differentiation, still occurs in cells that have lost competence to respond to serum by forming spicules. These experiments demonstrate that the acquisition and loss of competence in these cells are regulated developmental events and establish an in vitro system for the identification of the molecular basis for inductive signal recognition and signal transduction.

Centrifugal elutriation of large fragile cells: isolation of RNA from fixed embryonic blastomeres

In order to analyze the RNA populations present in different cells of very early embryos, we have developed a protocol to purify these large blastomeres using counterflow centrifugal elutriation (CCE). This procedure employs ethanol fixation to stabilize the cells against shear forces encountered during CCE. Using this method, we fractionated the three different blastomere types of the 16-cell sea urchin embryo, the micromeres, mesomeres, and macromeres, achieving 96, 94, and 96% mean purities, respectively. We show here that intact RNA is recovered with equal efficiency from each blastomere preparation. Using this method, we have identified several RNAs that are distributed non-uniformly among these cells.

Mapping and characterization of Paracentrotus lividus mitochondrial transcripts: multiple and overlapping transcription units

This paper reports the mapping of both mature and precursor Paracentrotus lividus mitochondrial transcripts. Several mtRNAs were found to have 5' and 3' termini which differ from those inferred through DNA sequencing (Cantatore et al. 1989). The 3' ends of the two rRNAs (12S and 16S) overlap with the downstream transcripts (tRNAGlu and CoI mRNA) by 5 and 10 nt respectively. The 132 nt non-coding region is extensively transcribed: in particular it contains a 124 nt RNA and the 5' end of a possible precursor of 13 clustered tRNAs. This latter overlaps by 7 nt with the 3' end of the 124 nt RNA. In addition to the mature RNAs, 32 high molecular weight RNAs, which are probably the precursors of the smaller more abundant mature species, were detected by Northern blotting. The mapping of these transcripts indicates that they are processed at the level of tRNA or tRNA-like sequences and suggests the existence of two transcription initiation sites upstream of the ND1 and the cytochrome b genes respectively. In the light of these results it appears that P. lividus mitochondrial DNA transcription takes place via multiple and probably overlapping transcription units. Moreover, the wide variation in the steady-state levels of the mature mRNAs indicates that sea urchin mitochondrial DNA expression is also regulated at the level of RNA decay.

Gastrulation in the sea urchin is accompanied by the accumulation of an endoderm-specific mRNA

Spatial diversification of the endoderm during gastrulation in the sea urchin Lytechinus variegatus was examined with an endoderm-specific cDNA clone. This cDNA clone, LvN1.2, was identified by a differential cDNA screen between the ectoderm and endoderm/mesoderm fractions from prism stage embryos. The LvN 1.2-kb mRNA was first detectable by Northern blots at the mesenchyme blastula stage just prior to gastrulation and then accumulated approximately 15-fold from gastrulation to the pluteus stage. In situ hybridization analysis demonstrated that the mRNA accumulated specifically in endoderm and was restricted to the hindgut-midgut regions. This restricted localization was apparent during gastrulation and predicted the morphological distinction between foregut and midgut eventually seen at prism and pluteus stages. Sequence analysis showed that the 189-amino acid open reading frame represented a novel protein. In vitro translation of synthetically produced LvN1.2 mRNA and Western blot analysis with antibodies to the protein sequence yielded the same 25-kDa polypeptide on SDS-PAGE. The LvN1.2 protein resided within discrete granules of the hindgut and midgut cells. These particles were concentrated to the luminal aspect of the cells, suggesting the LvN1.2 protein participates in the digestive function of this region of the gut.

Do ribosomes regulate mitochondrial RNA synthesis?

The levels of different classes of mitochondrially encoded transcripts are developmentally regulated in sea urchin embryos, as a result of selection between mutually exclusive synthetic pathways. I propose a simple model to explain these observations, based on a dual role for mitochondrial ribosomes and translation factors in RNA synthesis as well as in translation. This effect may be exerted either at the transcriptional or post-transcriptional level (or both), and is potentially generalizable to mammalian mtDNA and to other systems.

Mutually exclusive synthetic pathways for sea urchin mitochondrial rRNA and mRNA

The structure and abundance of mitochondrial transcripts in sea urchin embryos were investigated by a combination of RNA blot-hybridization, S1 mapping, and primer extension assays. Between the egg and blastula stages, the relative abundance of mitochondrial rRNAs declined slightly, while that of mitochondrial mRNAs increased up to 10-fold. Fine mapping of the termini of the rRNAs and of the adjacent transcripts indicated that, although they appeared to be butt-joined at their 5' ends to the upstream transcripts, tRNA-Phe 5' to the small subunit (12S) rRNA and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 mRNA 5' to the large subunit (16S) rRNA, respectively, their 3' ends were found to overlap the 5' ends of the downstream transcripts. 12S rRNA was found to extend 7 to 13 nucleotides into the sequence of tRNA-Glu; 16S rRNA was shown to terminate 3 to 5 nucleotides inside the coding region of cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) and 8 to 10 nucleotides from the mapped 5' end of COI mRNA. The rRNAs and the downstream transcripts must therefore be synthesized by distinct pathways, either by alternative processing of the same primary transcript(s) or by processing of different precursors. In either case, the events which select the ribosomal 3' ends preclude the production of functional transcripts of the downstream genes from the same precursor molecule. No developmental alterations in transcript structure were detected. We propose that mitochondrial RNA levels are regulated in early development by the selection of alternate and mutually exclusive RNA-processing pathways.

Mutually exclusive synthetic pathways for sea urchin mitochondrial rRNA and mRNA

The structure and abundance of mitochondrial transcripts in sea urchin embryos were investigated by a combination of RNA blot-hybridization, S1 mapping, and primer extension assays. Between the egg and blastula stages, the relative abundance of mitochondrial rRNAs declined slightly, while that of mitochondrial mRNAs increased up to 10-fold. Fine mapping of the termini of the rRNAs and of the adjacent transcripts indicated that, although they appeared to be butt-joined at their 5' ends to the upstream transcripts, tRNA-Phe 5' to the small subunit (12S) rRNA and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 mRNA 5' to the large subunit (16S) rRNA, respectively, their 3' ends were found to overlap the 5' ends of the downstream transcripts. 12S rRNA was found to extend 7 to 13 nucleotides into the sequence of tRNA-Glu; 16S rRNA was shown to terminate 3 to 5 nucleotides inside the coding region of cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) and 8 to 10 nucleotides from the mapped 5' end of COI mRNA. The rRNAs and the downstream transcripts must therefore be synthesized by distinct pathways, either by alternative processing of the same primary transcript(s) or by processing of different precursors. In either case, the events which select the ribosomal 3' ends preclude the production of functional transcripts of the downstream genes from the same precursor molecule. No developmental alterations in transcript structure were detected. We propose that mitochondrial RNA levels are regulated in early development by the selection of alternate and mutually exclusive RNA-processing pathways.

Spec2 genes of Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. Structure and differential expression in embryonic aboral ectoderm cells

Members of the Spec gene family are expressed during embryonic development of the sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. The family encodes proteins related to the calmodulin/troponin C/myosin light chain group of calcium binding proteins and one gene, Spec1, has been studied extensively in our laboratory. In this paper, we analyze other members of the family, collectively termed Spec2 genes. We make use of several hybridization probes derived from Spec1 and Spec2 cDNA clones, which recognize different members of the family. Genomic DNA gel blot and slot blot analyses show that there are approximately eight Spec genes in the S. purpuratus genome. The structures of three Spec2 genes, Spec2a, Spec2c and Spec2d, are described. A 60 kb (kb = 10(3) bases or base-pairs) region of the genome contains the linked Spec1-Spec2c genes and two separate 20 kb regions contain the Spec2a and Spec2d genes. Six members of a repetitive sequence family are dispersed at various locations among the genes. The transcriptional initiation sites of the three Spec2 genes are mapped, and 400 to 500 base-pairs of 5'-flanking DNA sequenced. All three Spec2 genes initiate transcription approximately 120 base-pairs upstream from the 3' end of the first exon. In contrast, the 5' end of the Spec1 transcript begins about 107 base-pairs farther upstream, so it contains 5' untranslated sequences that correspond to non-transcribed 5'-flanking sequences of the Spec2 genes. There is little similarity among the sequences upstream from the CAP site of the Spec2 genes except the TATA consensus sequence and a repeating trinucleotide, AAC. Measurements of Spec mRNA levels during embryogenesis show that Spec1 mRNA begins to accumulate at the early blastula stage and is the most abundant; Spec2a/Spec2c mRNAs begin accumulating several hours later at the late blastula-early gastrula stage and reach about 40 to 60% the levels of Spec1; and Spec2d mRNAs accumulate mostly during the gastrula and pluteus stages with levels reaching only 2% those of Spec1. In situ hybridization with probes that recognize either all Spec2 mRNAs or only Spec2d mRNAs show that, like Spec1, these mRNAs are restricted to aboral ectoderm cells and their precursors. The Spec gene family represents a group of related genes whose mRNAs all accumulate in the same cell type but at different times and to different levels during embryogenesis.

Coordinate accumulation of five transcripts in the primary mesenchyme during skeletogenesis in the sea urchin embryo

The sea urchin larval skeleton is produced by the primary mesenchyme (PM), a group of 32 cells descended from the four micromeres of the 16-cell embryo. The development of this lineage proceeds normally in isolated cultures of micromeres. A complementary DNA (cDNA) library was generated from cytoplasmic polyadenylated RNA isolated from differentiated micromere cultures of Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. Five clones were selected on the basis of their enrichment in differentiated PM cell RNA as compared to the polyribosomal RNAs of other embryonic cell types and other developmental stages. Each cloned cDNA hybridized to a distinct RNA that was abundant in the polyribosomes of differentiated PM cells, but absent from larval ectoderm and from 16-cell embryos. These RNAs were encoded by single or low copy genes. In situ hybridization analysis of the most abundant of these RNAs (SpLM 18) demonstrated that it was specifically limited to the skeletogenic PM of intact embryos. During the development of the PM, all five RNAs exhibited the same schedule of accumulation, appearing de novo, or increasing abruptly just before PM ingression, and remaining at relatively high levels thereafter. This pattern of RNA accumulation closely paralleled the pattern of synthesis of PM-specific proteins in general (Harkey and Whiteley, 1983) and of the SpLM 18-encoded protein specifically (Leaf et al., 1987). These results indicate that at least five distinct genes in the sea urchin, each of which encodes a PM-enriched or PM-specific mRNA, are expressed with tight coordination during development of the larval skeleton. They also demonstrate that expression of these genes in the PM is regulated primarily at the level of RNA abundance rather than RNA utilization.

Spec3: embryonic expression of a sea urchin gene whose product is involved in ectodermal ciliogenesis

We have characterized the temporal and spatial expression of Spec3 mRNA in embryos of the sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. This mRNA, 2.0 kb in length, is present at low levels in unfertilized eggs but accumulates rapidly during cleavage, increasing 50-fold by hatching blastula stage. Message levels then decline abruptly, remain constant during mesenchyme blastula and gastrula stages, and increase again during prism and pluteus stages. This accumulation pattern is quite similar to that of the ectodermally expressed beta-tubulin mRNAs described recently by Harlow and Nemer (1987a). In situ hybridization shows that although Spec3 message accumulates in all blastomeres at early blastula stages, it later becomes restricted to ectoderm. By late blastula stage, hybridization is strongest in the animal hemisphere. At gastrula, signals are variable over ectoderm, and by pluteus, grains are concentrated in the ciliary band, though present in other ectodermal cells as well. Deciliation and regeneration of cilia in gastrula-stage embryos results in a four- to fivefold increase in Spec3 mRNA levels, implying that the Spec3 gene product is associated with ciliogenesis. Spec3 mRNA is encoded by a single gene in the haploid genome, and characterization of the gene shows that it contains three exons that encode an open reading frame for a hydrophobic protein of 21.6 kD. The reading frame reveals that the carboxy-terminal part of the protein contains two long hydrophobic stretches, 31 and 37 residues long, separated by short hydrophilic regions of six to eight residues. The presence of these two distinct hydrophobic stretches suggests that the Spec3 protein contains two alpha-helical domains that either span the lipid bilayer or are associated with some other hydrophobic environment.

Widespread changes in the translation and adenylation of maternal messenger RNAs following fertilization of Spisula oocytes

We have reported previously that sequence-specific adenylations and deadenylations accompany changes in the translation of maternal mRNA following fertilization of Spisula oocytes (E.T. Rosenthal, T.R. Tansey, and J.V. Ruderman, 1983, J. Mol. Biol. 166, 309-327). The data presented here confirm and extend those observations. We have identified four classes of maternal mRNA with respect to translation: Class 1-not translated in oocytes and translated at very high efficiency immediately after fertilization, Class 2-not translated in oocytes and partially utilized for translation following fertilization, Class 3-translated in oocytes and not translated in embryos, and Class 4-not translated either before or after fertilization. There is an excellent, although not perfect, correlation between the translation of an mRNA and its polyadenylation status. The poly(A) tails of all the mRNAs which are translated in oocytes and untranslated in embryos are shortened at fertilization, and the poly(A) tails of those mRNAs which are untranslated in oocytes and translated in embryos are lengthened at fertilization. These adenylations and deadenylations occur simultaneously during the first 20 min following fertilization.

Informational content of the echinoderm egg

The sea urchin egg contains a store of mRNA synthesized during oogenesis but translated only after fertilization, which accounts for a large, rapid increase in the rate of synthesis of largely the same set of proteins synthesized by eggs. Starfish oocytes contain a population of stored maternal mRNA that becomes actively translated upon GVBD and codes for a set of proteins distinct from that synthesized by oocytes. The sequence complexity of RNA in echinoderm eggs is about 3.5 x 10(8) nucleotides, enough to code for about 12,000 different mRNAs averaging 3 kb in length. About 2-4% of the egg RNA functions as mRNA during early embryonic development; most of the sequences are rare, represented in a few thousand copies per egg, but some are considerably more abundant. Many of the stored RNA sequences accumulate during the period of vitellogenesis, which lasts a few weeks. The mechanisms of storage and translational activation of maternal mRNA are not well understood. Histone mRNAs are sequested in the egg pronucleus until first cleavage, but other mRNAs are widely distributed in the cytoplasm. The population of maternal RNA includes many very large molecules having interspersed repetitive sequence transcripts colinear with single-copy sequences. The structural features of much of the cytoplasmic maternal RNA is thus reminiscent of incompletely processed nuclear precursors of mRNA. The functional role of these strange molecules is not understood, but many interesting possibilities have been considered. For instance, they may be segregated into different cell lineages during cleavage and/or they may become translationally activated by selective processing during development. Maternal mRNA appears to be underloaded with ribosomes when translated, possibly because the coding sequences are short relative to the size of the mRNA. Most abundant and many rare mRNA sequences persist during embryonic development. The rare sequence molecules are replaced by newly synthesized RNA, but some abundant maternal transcripts appear to persist throughout embryonic development. Most of the proteins present in the egg do not change significantly in mass during development, but a few decline or accumulate substantially. Together, these observations indicate that much of the information for embryogenesis is stored in the egg, although substantial changes in gene expression occur during development.

Delayed accumulation of maternal histone mRNA during sea urchin oogenesis

We have used in situ hybridization and RNA blotting analysis to compare the timing of accumulation of poly(A) and alpha-subtype histone mRNA during oogenesis in the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. In situ hybridization with 3H-poly(U) shows that the content of poly(A) in the developing oocyte increases four- to sixfold during vitellogenesis, implying a similar increase for polyadenylated maternal RNAs. In contrast, both RNA blotting and in situ hybridization demonstrate that there is little, if any, alpha-subtype histone mRNA in large oocytes. These results suggest that these maternal mRNAs accumulate in the pronucleus of the haploid egg after completion of meiotic maturation where they are stored until their release during the breakdown of the pronucleus during prophase.

Differential mRNA accumulation and translation during Spisula development

The patterns of proteins synthesized in developing Spisula embryos and larvae were compared with in vitro translation products by one-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Major changes in the in vivo pattern occur at fertilization; these are regulated at the translational level (Rosenthal, Hunt, and Ruderman, 1980, Cell 20, 487-494). The pattern is further altered by midcleavage, and subsequent development is accompanied by frequent changes in the kinds of proteins made. By midcleavage many of the in vivo changes are paralleled by alterations in mRNA levels. Three cDNA clones containing developmentally regulated, nonmitochondrial sequences were isolated from a library constructed from veliger larval RNA. Clone 3v4 encodes alpha-tubulin. Clone 12v4 encodes a 35,000-D protein of unknown function. The protein product of clone 10v8 has not been identified. The concentration of alpha-tubulin RNA is relatively low through midcleavage, increases by the swimming gastrula stage, and is maintained at a moderately high level throughout larval development. 10v8 and 12v4 RNAs first appear in trochophore larvae; their concentrations peak 10-12 hr later, and then decline. The proportions of alpha-tubulin and 10v8 RNA that are translated vary with developmental stage. During early cleavage very little alpha-tubulin RNA is on polysomes; in swimming gastrulae 64% of this mRNA is polysomal. Seventy percent of 10v8 RNA is translated in the trochophore larva, while only approximately 40% is polysomal in the 21-hr veliger. These results show that translational regulation may be superimposed on changes in cytoplasmic mRNA concentrations to determine the level of gene expression during embryogenesis.

Poly(A)-containing messenger ribonucleoprotein complexes from sea urchin eggs and embryos: polypeptides associated with native and UV-crosslinked mRNPs

Fertilization of sea urchin eggs results in the rapid recruitment of stored messages into polyribosomes. Whether translational control in sea urchin eggs is mediated by macromolecules associated with the stored messages remains unknown, since preparations of messenger ribonucleoprotein complexes (mRNPs) were active in protein synthesis in a rabbit reticulocyte lysate. To facilitate the study of mRNPs, chromatography on oligo(dT)-cellulose was used to purify poly(A)-containing mRNPs from eggs and embryos of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. Nonpolyribosomal mRNPs purified from eggs had a similar sedimentation in sucrose to unpurified mRNPs, a peak buoyant density in metrizamide of 1.22 g/cm3, and peak buoyant densities in Cs2SO4 in 1.42 g/cm3 after fixation with glutaraldehyde and 1.46 g/cm3 without fixation. Nonpolyribosomal mRNPs from eggs and zygotes contained 5-10 major proteins on sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) polyacrylamide gels, and numerous minor bands. UV-irradiation of living eggs of the sea urchin Arbacia punctulata produced cross-linked mRNPs which contained a similar pattern of polypeptides to noncross-linked mRNPs. The polypeptides associated with embryonic polyribosomal mRNPs were also qualitatively similar to those present in nonpolyribosomal mRNPs, although stoichiometric differences may exist.

Transcripts of three mitochondrial genes in the RNA of sea urchin eggs and embryos

cDNA clones representing mitochondrial 16 S rRNA, and mRNAs for cytochrome oxidase I and an unidentified reading frame were used to measure the prevalence and stability of these transcripts in gastrula stage embryos. The 16 S rRNA is the most prevalent embryo poly(A) RNA, and is synthesized about four times more rapidly than is the mRNA for cytochrome oxidase. The relative prevalence of the two mRNAs is largely determined by their turnover rates.

Patterns of protein synthesis and metabolism during sea urchin embryogenesis

We have analyzed the patterns of protein synthesis in developing embryos of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. There was an increase in the number of proteins detectably synthesized during development, as well as significant changes in relative rates of synthesis involving approximately 20% of the nearly 900 newly synthesized polypeptides. The majority of these changes were increases rather than decreases in synthesis; about half were of at least 10-fold, while a few were of more than 100-fold. Very few changes were detected upon fertilization and during the first several hours of development, while about 60% of the changes detected occurred between the hatching and the beginning of invagination. An analysis of proteins detected by silver staining indicated that most remained nearly constant in mass during embryonic development, but several increased or declined substantially. Many proteins present in eggs were not detectably synthesized in either eggs or embryos.

The cytoskeletal framework of sea urchin eggs and embryos: developmental changes in the association of messenger RNA

Extraction of sea urchin eggs and embryos with Triton X-100 generated a cytoskeletal framework (CSK) composed of a cortical filamentous network and an internal system of filaments associated with ribosomes. The CSK contained only 10-20% of the cellular protein, RNA, and lipid. A specific subset of proteins was enriched in the CSK. Several lines of evidence suggest that mRNA is a component of the CSK of both eggs and embryos. First, the CSK contained poly(A) sequences which hybridized with [3H]poly(U). Second, the CSK contained polyribosomes. Finally, RNA extracted from the CSK showed translational activity in an in vitro system. The nonhistone messages present in the CSK were qualitatively similar to those solubilized by detergent, as determined by separation on polyacrylamide gels of the products of in vitro translation. In the unfertilized egg, most mRNA was present as nonpolyribosomal messenger ribonucleoprotein complexes which, along with monoribosomes, were efficiently extracted by Triton X-100. The converse was found in blastulae, as most of the mRNA was present as polyribosomes associated with the CSK, although monoribosomes were still efficiently extracted by detergent. These results indicate a correlation between the activation of protein synthesis in eggs and the association of polyribosomes with the CSK.