Replication origins are already licensed in G1 arrested unfertilized sea urchin eggs

Regulation of DNA synthesis at the first cell cycle in the sea urchin in vivo

Using fluorescent and non-fluorescent recombinant proteins has proved to be a very successful technique for following postfertilization events, in both male and female pronuclei during the first cell cycle of sea urchin in vivo. Proteins and dyes are introduced by microinjection into the unfertilized egg, and their function can be monitored by fluorescence or confocal/two-photon (2P) and transmitted light microscopy after insemination. Here, we describe expression and purification of GFP/RFP-tagged proteins involved in regulation of DNA replication. We also explain the techniques used to introduce recombinant proteins and fluorescent tubulin into sea urchin eggs and embryos.

Comparative biology of sperm factors and fertilization-induced calcium signals across the animal kingdom

Fertilization causes mature oocytes or eggs to increase their concentrations of intracellular calcium ions (Ca²⁺) in all animals that have been examined, and such Ca²⁺ elevations, in turn, provide key activating signals that are required for non-parthenogenetic development. Several lines of evidence indicate that the Ca²⁺ transients produced during fertilization in mammals and other taxa are triggered by soluble factors that sperm deliver into oocytes after gamete fusion. Thus, for a broad-based analysis of Ca²⁺ dynamics during fertilization in animals, this article begins by summarizing data on soluble sperm factors in non-mammalian species, and subsequently reviews various topics related to a sperm-specific phospholipase C, called PLCζ, which is believed to be the predominant activator of mammalian oocytes. After characterizing initiation processes that involve sperm factors or alternative triggering mechanisms, the spatiotemporal patterns of Ca²⁺ signals in fertilized oocytes or eggs are compared in a taxon-by-taxon manner, and broadly classified as either a single major transient or a series of repetitive oscillations. Both solitary and oscillatory types of fertilization-induced Ca²⁺ signals are typically propagated as global waves that depend on Ca²⁺ release from the endoplasmic reticulum in response to increased concentrations of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP₃). Thus, for taxa where relevant data are available, upstream pathways that elevate intraoocytic IP3 levels during fertilization are described, while other less-common modes of producing Ca²⁺ transients are also examined. In addition, the importance of fertilization-induced Ca²⁺ signals for activating development is underscored by noting some major downstream effects of these signals in various animals.