ABSTRACT
The first echinoderm homologues of the vertebrate protooncogenes c-myc and c-ras have been isolated from testes of the sea star, Asterias vulgaris. The c-myc gene has approximately 30% amino acid identify and 46% overall conservation to human c-myc. Regions of higher conservation correspond to the transcriptional activation, casein kinase phosphorylation, basic DNA-binding, nuclear targeting and oligomerization domains in the second and third exons of human c-myc. Most studies of growth and reproduction in invertebrates have relied on measuring changes in morphological or physiological indices over a period of days to weeks. Using this protooncogenic index, we are provided with a highly sensitive means for determining the mitogenic effects of molecules suspected of controlling reproduction.
