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. 1985 Aug 15;41(8):1068-70.
doi: 10.1007/BF01952148.

Injection of a soluble sperm fraction into sea-urchin eggs triggers the cortical reaction

B Dale, L J DeFelice, G Ehrenstein

Injection of a soluble sperm fraction into sea-urchin eggs triggers the cortical reaction

B Dale et al. Experientia. .

Abstract

Fertilization membranes form around unfertilized sea-urchin eggs after microinjection of a soluble spermatozoa fraction isosmotic with seawater. This demonstrates that the spermatozoon contains a chemical that triggers an increase in cytosolic calcium, leading to exocytosis of cortical granules. It also demonstrates that the triggering mechanism does not require an externally-activated egg-membrane process. Further experiments show that the chemical trigger is not calcium.

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