Contrasting effects of fatty acids on oocyte maturation in several starfish species

Oocyte maturation (meiosis reinitiation) in starfish is induced by the natural hormone 1-methyladenine. In some species (group 2) oocyte maturation can be induced by micromolar concentrations of a few fatty acids such as arachidonic and eicosapentaenoic acids or by nanomolar concentrations of hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid. Complete maturation is triggered: increased protein phosphorylation, appearance of the cytoplasmic "maturation-promoting factor", germinal vesicle breakdown, emission of the two polar bodies and formation of the female pronucleus. In other species (group 1), however, no maturation can be induced by the fatty acids active in the species of group 2, despite a large variety of experimental conditions.