Polarity of the surface and cortex of the amphibian egg from fertilization to first cleavage

The anuran egg is polarized along its animal-vegetal axis and becomes bilaterally symmetrical before first cleavage. Functional sperm entry is regionally restricted to the animal hemisphere of the egg, and functional sperm entry does not occur after egg activation. This regional and functional restriction in sperm entry correlates with the presence of long, slender microvilli and with the presence of the filamentous component of the glycocalyx. After sperm fusion, the egg undergoes activation, including a depolarization of the membrane potential and exocytosis of granules in the cortex. Both of these activation responses are the result of a propagated increase in intracellular calcium. The egg's ability to undergo a propagated activation response develops after germinal vesicle breakdown and depends on the development of the cortical endoplasmic reticulum. Once activated, the radial symmetric egg acquires bilateral symmetry due to a rotation of the egg cortex relative to the inner cytoplasm. A transient array of parallel microtubules forms near the vegetal cortex and may be part of the motor driving the cortical rotation.