PRODUCTION OF 1-METHYLADENINE INDUCED BY CONCANAVALIN A IN STARFISH FOLLICLE CELLS

Concanavalin A (Con A) was found to induce maturation of oocytes with follicular envelopes in the starfish, Asterina pectinifera. Treating a Con A sample with 85% ethanol and heat revealed that the maturation-inducing activity of the sample was not due to possible contamination with 1-methyladenine, but to Con A itself. However, Con A had little maturation inducing effect on isolated oocytes from which the follicular envelope had been removed, suggesting that its effect is indirect and probably mediated by the follicle cells. When follicle cells were incubated in seawater containing Con A, a maturation-inducing substance was found to have been produced in the incubation medium. This was purified and identified as 1-methyladenine. Therefore it is concluded that Con A has the same capacity as GSS, a gonad-stimulating peptide hormone of neural origin, to induce production of the maturation-inducing substance. Other plant lectins such as phytohemagglutinin P and wheat germ agglutinin had little effect in inducing production of 1-methyladenine in follicle cells.