Skip to main content
NCBI home page
The Journal of Cell Biology logoLink to The Journal of Cell Biology
. 1969 Apr 1;41(1):133–144. doi: 10.1083/jcb.41.1.133

A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE ISOLATION OF THE CORTEX AND THE ROLE OF THE CALCIUM-INSOLUBLE PROTEIN IN SEVERAL SPECIES OF SEA URCHIN EGG

R E Kane 1, R E Stephens 1
PMCID: PMC2107722  PMID: 4887225

Abstract

A comparative study was made of the isolation of the cortex in the eggs of several sea urchin species. Since the isolation method developed by Sakai depends on the presence of magnesium in the medium, the protein composition of the cortex was investigated to determine whether the protein component of the egg described by Kane and Hersh which is gelled by divalent ions, is present in these cortices. Isolation of the cortex was found to require the same divalent ions at the same concentrations as protein gelation, and in the eggs of some species much of the gel protein of the cell was found in the isolated cortical material. In the eggs of other species a smaller fraction of this protein was found in the isolated cortex, although it was more concentrated there than in the endoplasm, and in one species this protein appeared to be uniformly distributed throughout the cell. These results indicate that this protein is localized in the cortical region of the eggs of some species of sea urchin, possibly in the cortical granules, but also point up the fact that results from one species cannot be uncritically extrapolated to others.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (1.0 MB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. ALLEN R. D. Isolation of cortical material from sea urchin eggs by centrifugation. J Cell Physiol. 1957 Jun;49(3):379–394. doi: 10.1002/jcp.1030490303. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. ALLEN R. D. The fertilization reaction in isolated cortical material from sea urchin eggs. Exp Cell Res. 1955 Apr;8(2):397–399. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(55)90150-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. ENDO Y. Changes in the cortical layer of sea urchin eggs at fertilization as studied with the electron microscope. I. Clypeaster japonicus. Exp Cell Res. 1961 Nov;25:383–397. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(61)90288-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. KANE R. E., HERSH R. T. The isolation and preliminary characterization of a major soluble protein of the sea urchin egg. Exp Cell Res. 1959 Jan;16(1):59–69. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(59)90195-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. LOWRY O. H., ROSEBROUGH N. J., FARR A. L., RANDALL R. J. Protein measurement with the Folin phenol reagent. J Biol Chem. 1951 Nov;193(1):265–275. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. LUFT J. H. Improvements in epoxy resin embedding methods. J Biophys Biochem Cytol. 1961 Feb;9:409–414. doi: 10.1083/jcb.9.2.409. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. MERCER E. H., WOLPERT L. An electron microscope study of the cortex of the sea urchin (Psammechinus miliaris) egg. Exp Cell Res. 1962 Jun;27:1–13. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(62)90037-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. REYNOLDS E. S. The use of lead citrate at high pH as an electron-opaque stain in electron microscopy. J Cell Biol. 1963 Apr;17:208–212. doi: 10.1083/jcb.17.1.208. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. SAKAI H. STUDIES ON SULFHYDRYL GROUPS DURING CELL DIVISION OF SEA URCHIN EGG. VI. BEHAVIOR OF -SH GROUPS OF CORTICES OF EGGS TREATED WITH ETHER-SEA WATER. Exp Cell Res. 1963 Nov;32:391–393. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(63)90114-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. SAKAI H. Studies on sulfhydryl groups during cell division of sea urchin egg. II. Mass isolation of the egg cortex and change in its--SH groups during cell division. J Biophys Biochem Cytol. 1960 Dec;8:603–607. doi: 10.1083/jcb.8.3.603. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. SAKAI H. Studies on sulfhydryl groups during cell division of sea urchin egg. III. SH groups of KC1-soluble proteins and their change during cleavage. J Biophys Biochem Cytol. 1960 Dec;8:609–615. doi: 10.1083/jcb.8.3.609. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. SAKAI H. Studies on sulfhydryl groups during cell division of sea urchin egg. IV. Contractile properties of the thread model of KLCl-soluble protein from the sea urchin egg. J Gen Physiol. 1962 Jan;45:411–425. doi: 10.1085/jgp.45.3.411. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. SAKAI H. Studies on sulfhydryl groups during cell division of sea urchin egg. V. Change in contractility of the thread model in relation to cell division. J Gen Physiol. 1962 Jan;45:427–438. doi: 10.1085/jgp.45.3.427. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. STEMPAK J. G., WARD R. T. AN IMPROVED STAINING METHOD FOR ELECTRON MICROSCOPY. J Cell Biol. 1964 Sep;22:697–701. doi: 10.1083/jcb.22.3.697. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Sakai H. Studies on sulfhydryl groups during cell division of sea-urchin eggs. 8. Some properties of mitotic apparatus proteins. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1966 Jan 4;112(1):132–145. doi: 10.1016/s0926-6585(96)90015-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The Journal of Cell Biology are provided here courtesy of The Rockefeller University Press

RESOURCES