Changes in protein phosphorylation during the maturation of mammalian oocytes in vitro

Cumulus-enclosed sheep oocytes were cultured in gonadotrophin-containing medium for up to 9 hr and were then incubated for 3 hr in the presence of [32P]phosphate. The incorporation of 32P into TCA-insoluble material was measured, and oocyte proteins were separated by one- and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Incorporation of [32P]phosphate into protein increased after 3 hr culture and again after 9 hr, the time of germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD). Qualitative and quantitative changes in the phosphorylation of proteins occurred over the 12-hr period studied. One of the most prominent changes was the appearance of a band of Mr 33,000, which was absent at 0-3 hr but appeared with increasing intensity with longer periods of culture. Two-dimensional electrophoresis revealed that the bulk of material in this band was a neutral polypeptide. No significant incorporation of [32P]phosphate was found in ribosomal extracts of oocytes.