NEUROCHEMICAL CONTROL OF GAMETE RELEASE IN STARFISH
Open Access
- 1 February 1966
- journal article
- research article
- Published by University of Chicago Press in The Biological Bulletin
- Vol. 130 (1) , 43-58
- https://doi.org/10.2307/1539951
Abstract
A neurochemical substance from the radial nerve of Asterias forbesi and Patiria miniata has been studied in vivo and in vitro and found to initiate both gamete release and maturation. The significance of a 30-minute lag period before gamete release, which was evident in all experiments, was discussed. Gamete gonoduct or gonopore. The level of shedding substance in radial nerves of starfish was found to be constant throughout the year, and was found in a total of 10 different species. Cross-experiments indicated that a limited degree of species specificity existed. The possibility that the shedding substance is a neurosecretory product was discussed. The shedding substance was found to be a polypeptide, consisting of 10-15 amino acids, which was purified for future amino acid analysis. An inhibitor to the shedding substance, shedhibin, was also found in the radial nerve. Its presence varied with the reproductive state of the animal.This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit: