Water, potassium, and sodium during amphibian oocyte development

L. Tluczek, Y. T. Lau, S. B. Horowitz*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal Article peer-review

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

Water, K+, and Na+ were measured in Rana pipiens oocytes during growth and prematurational development using low-temperature microdissection. Whole oocytes were analyzed during previtellogenic and vitellogenic growth. Ooplasm and germinal vesicle (nucleus) were analyzed at the onset and conclusion of vitellogenic growth. In previtellogenic oocytes (<40 μg), water, K+, and Na+ concentrations resembled those in somatic cells and were independent of cell size. With the onset of yolk deposition, water and K+ concentrations progressively decreased and Na+ progressively increased. These changes were restricted to ooplasm, the site of yolk deposition. In full-grown oocytes, vegetal ooplasm, with greater yolk density than animal ooplasm, contained less water and K+ and more Na+ than animal ooplasm. Collectively, the data indicate that yolk is poorer in water and K+ and richer in Na+ than yolk-free ooplasm (cytoplasm) or nucleoplasm. Yolk concentrations were estimated to be ∼32% water, ∼69 meq K+/liter H2O, and ∼94 meq Na+/liter H2O. Several nonyolk parameters, such as cation activities and nucleoplasmic binding, also appear to change during oogenesis.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)97-105
Number of pages9
JournalDevelopmental Biology
Volume104
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 07 1984
Externally publishedYes

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