Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 25, 2026
17:23
Chick ex ovo Culture and ex ovo CAM Assay: How it Really Works
Published on: November 30, 2009
Thermostabilization of ovalbumin in a developing egg by an alkalinity-regulated, two-step process
H Hatta1, M Nomura, N Takahashi
1Department of Food and Nutrition, Kyoto Women's University, Japan.
Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry
|October 26, 2001
Summary
The conversion of ovalbumin to heat-stable S-ovalbumin is slower in fertile eggs than unfertile ones. This difference is attributed to the alkalinity of egg white during incubation.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Food Science
- Avian Biology
Background:
- Ovalbumin naturally converts to a heat-stable form, S-ovalbumin, in eggs and solutions.
- Recent studies indicated this conversion also occurs in fertile eggs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the rate of ovalbumin conversion to S-ovalbumin in fertile versus unfertile avian eggs.
- To determine the factors influencing the differential conversion rates observed between fertile and unfertile eggs.
Main Methods:
- Calorimetric analysis of ovalbumin samples isolated from fertile and unfertile eggs.
- Monitoring and simulating pH changes in egg white during incubation.
- Comparing ovalbumin conversion rates under controlled pH conditions.
Main Results:
- Ovalbumin conversion to S-ovalbumin was significantly slower in fertile eggs compared to unfertile eggs under identical incubation.
- Distinct pH changes were observed in the egg white of fertile and unfertile eggs during incubation.
- Manually adjusting purified ovalbumin pH to mimic egg white changes replicated the observed conversion rates.
Conclusions:
- The thermostabilization of ovalbumin in fertile eggs is influenced by a mechanism dependent on egg white alkalinity.
- Egg white pH plays a crucial role in regulating the rate of ovalbumin conversion to its heat-stable form.
Related Concept Videos
02:07Oogenesis
In human women, oogenesis produces one mature egg cell or ovum for every precursor cell that enters meiosis. This process differs in two unique ways from the equivalent procedure of spermatogenesis in males. First, meiotic divisions during oogenesis are asymmetric, meaning that a large oocyte (containing most of the cytoplasm) and minor polar body are produced as a result of meiosis I, and again following meiosis II. Since only oocytes will go on to form embryos if fertilized, this unequal...
01:22Oogenesis
Oogenesis, the process of developing egg cells (female gametes), occurs within the ovaries and is fundamental to female fertility. This sequence begins during fetal development when diploid oogonia in the developing ovaries undergo mitotic divisions to produce primary oocytes. By birth, these primary oocytes enter prophase I of meiosis but become arrested in this stage, remaining suspended until puberty.
Each primary oocyte is surrounded by a layer of pre-granulosa cells, forming what is known...
Each primary oocyte is surrounded by a layer of pre-granulosa cells, forming what is known...