6533b7defe1ef96bd127659b

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Specific, concentration-dependent uptake of vitellin by the oocytes ofNereis virens (Annelida, Polychaeta) in vitro

subject

description

One purpose of this study was the development of methods for radioactive labeling and handling of the yolk protein of Nereis virens, another, the utilization of this tracer in nereid oocyte cultures to describe the kinetics and specificity of yolk protein uptake. Accumulation of labeled yolk protein by growing oocytes is linear over time, specific for yolk protein, and dependent on tracer concentration in the medium. Incorporation of yolk protein follows saturation kinetics which allows us to reproducibly determine the characteristics of this process. The apparent KM of ∼ 1 × 10−8 M indicates the high affinity of the transport system; the Vmax (160–400 pg protein/day × oocyte) reveals that transport of yolk protein into the nereid oocyte is very slow compared with a vertebrate system. The low Vmax corresponds to the very slow sexual maturation in this worm. Since nereid oocytes grow freely in the coelom, the experimental system described is suitable for a quantitative study of the transfer of biomass from soma to growing oocytes.