In non-muscle cells the mechanism by which microfilament bundles interact with the plasma membrane is unclear. Vinculin, a 130 kDa protein found in adhesion plaques, has been postulated to have a role as a membrane anchor for microfilaments and we have investigated the biochemistry of this molecule in more detail. We report that a fraction of vinculin in chick embryo fibroblasts is acylated by myristic acid. This modification was present in both membrane-bound, cytoskeletal and cytosolic vinculin and thus did not determine preferential subcellular localisation. Myristic acid was also present in vinculin from cells transformed by Rous sarcoma virus.
