Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-t5tsf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-02T19:58:43.730Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The activity for the induction of the sperm acrosome reaction localises in the outer layers and exists in the high-molecular-weight components of the egg-jelly of the newt, Cynops pyrrhogaster

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 April 2002

Takayuki Sasaki
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Yamagata University, Yamagata 990-8560, Japan
Saori Kamimura
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Yamagata University, Yamagata 990-8560, Japan
Hiroyuki Takai
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Yamagata University, Yamagata 990-8560, Japan
Akihiko Watanabe
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Yamagata University, Yamagata 990-8560, Japan
Kazuo Otinake
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Yamagata University, Yamagata 990-8560, Japan

Abstract

Localisation of the acrosome reaction inducing activity in egg-jelly was examined in the newt, Cynops pyrrhogaster. The jelly has six layers: the J0, J1, J2, J3, J4 and st layers. Jelly was mechanically dissected and placed on a Millipore filter. When sperm were added from the outer surface side of the jelly, most of them exhibited the acrosome reaction after passing through the jelly. When egg-jelly was divided into four layers, strong activity for the induction of acrosome reaction was detected in the outer layers, J4+st. These findings suggest that the acrosome reaction is induced by a substance in the outer layers of the egg-jelly. Among jelly components separated by SDS-PAGE, a fraction of more than 500 kDa in molecular weight induced the acrosome reaction. Wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), Griffonia simplicifoliar agglutinin 1 (GS-1), Maclura pomifera agglutinin (MPA) and Arachis hypogaea agglutinin (PNA) inhibited the induction of the acrosome reaction by jelly extract, and WGA did so in a dose-dependent manner. Those lectins precipitated some molecules of over 500 kDa. These results suggest that the acrosome reaction is induced by the high molecular-weight components of egg-jelly in C. pyrrhogaster.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
2002 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)