The uptake of dissolved glycine following fertilization of oyster eggs, Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg)

Embryos of the oyster, Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg), can take up ¹⁴C]glycine from micromolar concentrations, but unfertilized eggs do not. Activation of uptake mechanisms coincides with the first cell division of the fertilized egg. Uptake of glycine is inhibited by ouabain, an inhibitor of the sodium pump. This study, when combined with earlier work, demonstrates that bivalves utilize dissolved organic nutrients throughout their life span, from fertilized egg to adulthood.