Permeability of chicken egg vitelline membrane to glucose, carbohydrate gradients between albumen and yolk

1. In the fertile chicken egg the albumen had higher carbohydrate concentration than the yolk with the highest concentration in the vicinity of the vitelline and shell membranes. 2. The mean half-life of glucose in the albumen was 18 hr during the first day of incubation. 3. Vitelline membrane was found to be freely permeable to glucose both from albumen to yolk and from yolk to albumen. 4. The amount of carbohydrate strongly linked to protein (glycoprotein) is similar in yolk and albumen. 5. There is an in vivo as well as in vitro fixation of free glucose by the albumen proteins. 6. Most carbohydrate of the fertile chicken egg was found to be loosely-linked to protein.