title: Significance of egg-jelly substances in the internal fertilization of the newt, Cynops pyrrhogaster.
abstract: Japanese newt, Cynops pyrrhogaster, undergoes internal fertilization as do most urodeles. In this study, we focused on the roles of egg-jelly in fertilization of C. pyrrhogaster and characterized the substances associated with those roles. When dry sperm were directly inseminated onto the egg, normal fertilization occurred without the presence of water. Egg-jelly extract (JE) prepared with Steinberg's salt solution contained the activity for the initiation of sperm motility. A substance of about 50 kDa in JE was significant for this activity; an inactive form of the substance probably exists in JE. Strong activity to induce acrosome reaction was detected in JE. It was inhibited by the treatment of JE with WGA, suggesting that carbohydrate in JE may be important for the induction of the acrosome reaction. This study suggests that two significant processes of fertilization are regulated by substances in the egg-jelly of the newt, C. pyrrhogaster.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Yamagata University, Koshirakawa, Japan. oni@sci.kj.yamagata-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Onitake
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takai
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ukita
authors.forename: J I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Mizuno
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Watanabe
mesh_terms: D020101:Acrosome Reaction / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D002850:Chromatography, Gel; D004527:Egg Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D008297:Male; D018715:Microscopy, Video; D012455:Salamandridae / Q000196:embryology / Q000502:physiology*; D013081:Sperm Motility / Q000502:physiology*; D013084:Sperm-Ovum Interactions / Q000502:physiology*; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D014909:Wheat Germ Agglutinins / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D004527:Egg Proteins; D014909:Wheat Germ Agglutinins