A MUCIN CLOT REACTION WITH SEA-URCHIN FERTILIZIN

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Abstract
Prepns. of fertilizin (the sperm-agglutinating constituent of egg water) of the eggs of 3 spp. of sea-urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. S. franciscanus and Lytechinus pictus, have been found to co-precipitate with acidified serum albumin giving a mucin clot similar to that formed by hyaluronic acid under similar conditions. Total loss of sperm-agglutinating capacity of the supernatant after co-precipitation is complete and its quantitative recovery from the precipitate shows that it is the fertilizin that is co-precipitated. A method for the estimation of the mucin clot titer is described. Identical titers are obtained within a limited range of pH, salt and albumin conc. Chemical analysis shows that fertilizin contains no glucuronic acid and about 2% hexosamine in contrast to hyaluronic acid. Parallel mucin clot and sperm agglutinating titrations of heated and u.-v. irradiated fertilizin show that univalent (non-agglutinating) fertilizin is also co-precipitated with acidified serum albumin.
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