Sperm maturation response inArenicola marinaL.: An in vitro assay for sperm maturation factor and its partial purification

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Abstract
Spawning in Arenicola marina occurs following maturation of the gametes in males and females. Maturation (germinal vesicle breakdown and the formation of a meiotic spindle in oocytes and the dissociation of sperm morulae to free spermatozoa in males) and the subsequent spawning is under hormonal control from the prostomium. An in vitro assay for the sperm maturation factor is described here. The assay is based on the activation and dissociation of sperm morulae and is scored visually in terms of the agglutination of free spermatozoa which occurs 45–50 min after exposure of the morulae to prostomial extracts in vitro. Dose-response curves show that the sperm maturation factor of males is active at the same concentrations as the oocyte maturation hormone of females. The results of preliminary purification of the sperm maturation factor using preparative thin-layer chromatography show it to be a polar lipid.