Concanavalin A induces germinal vesicle breakdown in Barnea candida (Mollusca, Pelecypoda) oocytes.
Treatment of Barnea candida oocytes with 5 micrograms/ml Con A or above elicits germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD), the timing for this event being dose dependent. At 100 micrograms/ml, GVBD occurs within 20 to 30 min, a lag time corresponding to that observed after fertilization. Con A-induced GVBD requires the presence of 2 mM external calcium during all the treatment period while at 10 mM external Ca2+, the calcium-dependent period is slightly reduced. It is sensitive to low pH Na-acetate sea water, 50 microM trifluoperazine, 20 microM D-600 or 2,4-dinitrophenol, as well as to 10 micrograms/ml cytochalasin B. A straightforward interpretation of these data would be that Con A-induced maturation is sustained by an energy-requiring effector mechanism involving intracellular contractile proteins.
D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D003208:Concanavalin A / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007700:Kinetics; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D008974:Mollusca; D009865:Oocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*
D003208:Concanavalin A; D002118:Calcium