BIOCHEMICAL STUDIES ON THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT
OF THE SEA URCHINf
ALBERTO MONROY
and
RACHELE MAGGIO
Laboratory of Comparative Anatomy, The University of Palermo, Italy
I. Introduction
95
II. Remarks about Methods
96
III. Protein Synthesis During Early Development of the Sea Urchin
100
A. General Metabolic Background
100
B. Protein Synthesis During the Early Post-Fertilization Stages
103
C. Protein Synthesis During the Initial Visible Differentiation Phase
Ill
IV. The Nucleic Acids
115
A. Topographical Distribution
115
B. Biochemical Studies on Synthesis
116
V. Some Notes on the Subcellular Components
124
A. The Nucleus
124
B. The Mitochondria
129
C. The Microsomes
133
D. The Yolk Platelets
135
E. The Pigment Granules
138
VI. Conclusions
139
References
140
I. Introduction
For many years the eggs of Echinoderms and of amphibians have
been considered as ideal material for embryological investigations and
indeed for the study of a great many problems of cell physiology. In
recent times, however, tremendous progress has been made in the field
of molecular biology through exploiting the qualities and properties of
micro-organisms which in many respects have proved to be a material
far superior to any vertebrate or invertebrate egg so far examined. There
can be no doubt that during the past twenty years or so micro-organisms
have been the major source of information on the most fundamental
biological problems. In particular, it is thanks to the use of microorganisms that considerable advances have been made towards the
solution of the problem of the genetical control of the synthesis of
f This review is dedicated to our friend F. E. Lehmann on the occasion of his sixtieth
birthday.
D2
95