Post-transcriptional processing suggests that c-mos functions as a maternal message in mouse eggs.

Transcripts of the c-mos proto-oncogene were recently found to accumulate to high levels in mouse oocytes. We report here that the oocyte c-mos RNA is polyadenylated in concert with oocyte maturation, retained in mature ovulated eggs and zygotes but degraded by the late two cell embryo stage. These results suggest that c-mos functions as a maternal mRNA which is translated during oocyte maturation or fertilization and may play a role in these or other early developmental processes.