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Sodium-mediated fast electrical depolarization does not prevent polyspermic fertilization in Paracentrotus lividus eggs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 August 2019

Nunzia Limatola ,
Filip Vasilev ,
Jong Tai Chun  and
Luigia Santella Open the ORCID record for Luigia Santella [Opens in a new window]
Nunzia Limatola
Affiliation:
Department of Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms
Filip Vasilev
Affiliation:
Department of Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms
Jong Tai Chun
Affiliation:
Department of Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms
Luigia Santella*
Affiliation:
Department of Research Infrastructures for Marine Biological Resources, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Napoli, Italy
*
Address for correspondence: Luigia Santella. Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale 80121, Napoli, Italy. Tel: +39 0815833289. Fax: +39 0817641355. E-mail: santella@szn.it
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Summary

During sea urchins fertilization, the activating spermatozoon triggers a series of physiological changes that transforms the quiescent egg into a dynamic zygote. It has been suggested that several of these egg activation events, e.g. sperm-induced plasma membrane depolarization and the Ca2+-linked cortical reaction, play additional roles to prevent the entry of supernumerary spermatozoa. In particular, the abrupt shift in egg membrane potential at fertilization, which is sustained by a Na+ influx, has been considered as a fast mechanism to block polyspermy. To test the relevance of the Na+-mediated fast electrical block to polyspermy, we fertilized sea urchin eggs in artificial seawater with a low concentration of Na+; nearly all the eggs were still monospermic, as judged by the number of Hoechst 33422-stained sperm. When fertilized in normal seawater, eggs that were pre-incubated in the low Na+ medium exhibited impaired elevation of the fertilization envelope. Nevertheless, these eggs manifested entry of a single spermatozoon, suggesting that the fertilization envelope was not the primary determinant of the block to polyspermy. Furthermore, we showed that the abnormal cleavage patterns displayed by eggs pre-incubated in low Na+, which were often considered a hallmark of polyspermy, were due to the alterations in the cortical actin filaments dynamics following fertilization, and not to the formation of multipolar spindles associated with supernumerary sperm centrosomes. Hence, our results suggested that Paracentrotus lividus eggs do not utilize Na+ to rapidly prevent additional spermatozoa from entering the egg, at variance with the hypothesis of an electrical fast block to polyspermy.

Keywords

ActinCortical reactionFast blockPolyspermySea urchinSodium depletion
Type
Research Article
Information
Zygote , Volume 27 , Issue 4 , August 2019 , pp. 241 - 249
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2019 

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Footnotes

*

Present address: Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal, (CRCHUM) Montréal, Canada.

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