Surface polarization in loach eggs and two-cell embryos: correlations between surface relief, endocytosis and cortex contractility

The aim of this study was to examine the reorganization of the microfilamentous cortical layer (MC) accompanying ooplasmic segregation in loach eggs. Using scanning (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), we found that the MC is thicker in folded areas. Prior to fertilization, surface microvilli are distributed more or less uniformly throughout the egg. A similar, more or less uniform, distribution of endocytotic events was observed in the eggs 5-15 min after insemination using fluorescence microscopy of Lucifer yellow CH uptake. During ooplasmic segregation, the surface is progressively polarized so that before the first cleavage onset (50-60 min after insemination) only the blastodisc surface is folded and undergoes endocytosis, whereas the vegetal surface is smooth and does not show internalization. In two-cell embryos, the blastomeric surface is also regionalized according to its relief and endocytosis. When surface tension was lowered by sucking most yolk granules out of the egg, we observed contractile responses only in the animal folded surface. These data suggest that a polar distribution of contractile structures is established in the loach egg undergoing ooplasmic segregation.