On the contents of the cortical granules from Xenopus laevis eggs

The extruded contents of the cortical granules in eggs of Xenopus laevis were solubilized by exposure to divalent metal ion chelators. Chelator extraction of cortical granule (CG) material from intact fertilized or artificially activated eggs was quantitated by fluorescence spectroscopy. The isolated fertilization envelope, formed upon interaction between CG material and the preexisting vitelline envelope, was also subject to extraction. An ultrastructural analysis revealed that chelator exposure resulted in the disruption of the structural integrity of the CG-derived F-component of the fertilization envelope. CG material was isolated from Xenopus ova by three procedures: (1) extrusion from artificially activated, dejellied eggs; (2) extraction of intact, fertilized eggs; and (3) extraction of isolated fertilization envelopes. Only 4–5% of the CG protein recovered by extrusion or by extraction of the intact fertilized egg could be associated with the isolated fertilization envelopes. One predominant polypeptide fraction with an identical relative mobility was demonstrated in all CG preparations upon polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in SDS. Polymeric forms of CG protein were detected in chelator extracted preparations. The presence of an intact jelly coat during CG breakdown was a prerequisite to the transformation of the vitelline envelope to a fertilization envelope with altered physicochemical characteristics. Further, the CG-derived F-component of the fertilization envelope did not appear to play a critical role in determining the physicochemical properties of the fertilization envelope.