Human and mouse cellular myc protooncogenes reside on chromosomes involved in numerical and structural aberrations in cancer.

A molecular clone of viral myc (v-myc), the oncogene of avian myelocytomatosis virus, MC29, detected homologous human, mouse, and Chinese hamster cellular myc (c-myc) sequences by Southern filter hybridization. A v-myc probe, containing sequences from the 3' domain of the gene, hybridized to single human HindIII and mouse EcoRI genomic DNA fragments of the cellular myc genes whose segregation could be followed in interspecies somatic cell hybrids. Human c-myc segregated concordantly with the enzyme marker glutathione reductase and with a karyotypically normal chromosome 8. A rearrangement of human c-myc was observed in Burkitt's lymphoma cells possessing the t(8;14) translocation. These results suggest that human c-myc is located close to the breakpoint on chromosome 8 (q24) involved in the t(8;14) translocation. The mouse c-myc gene segregated concordantly with chromosome 15 in mouse-Chinese hamster cell hybrids. These gene assignments are noteworthy, as structural and numerical abnormalities of human chromosome 8 and mouse chromosome 15 are associated frequently with B-cell neoplasms.