Signal transduction at fertilization: the Ca2+ release pathway in echinoderms and other invertebrate deuterostomes.
Gamete interaction and fusion triggers a number of events that lead to egg activation and development of a new organism. A key event at fertilization is the rise in intracellular calcium. In deuterostomes, this calcium is released from the egg's endoplasmic reticulum and is necessary for proper activation. This article reviews recent data regarding how gamete interaction triggers the initial calcium release, focusing on the echinoderms (invertebrate deuterostomes) as model systems. In eggs of these animals, Src-type kinases and phospholipase C-gamma are required components of the initial calcium trigger pathway in eggs.
Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology and the Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, 93106-9610, USA.
Ian K
IK
Townley
Michelle M
MM
Roux
Kathy R
KR
Foltz
D000818:Animals; D020013:Calcium Signaling; D004447:Echinodermata / Q000378:metabolism*; D004721:Endoplasmic Reticulum / Q000378:metabolism; D015544:Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D010063:Ovum / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism; D051966:Phospholipase C gamma / Q000502:physiology; D013084:Sperm-Ovum Interactions; D019061:src-Family Kinases / Q000378:metabolism
D015544:Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate; D019061:src-Family Kinases; D051966:Phospholipase C gamma