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Explaining the burst after urchin fertilization
The Scientist 2004, 18(24):24
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Researchers have identified a key enzyme in sea urchin egg fertilization. Working on two species of urchins, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus and Lytechinus variegatus, Gary Wessel and others at Brown University identified Urchin Dual Oxidase 1 (Udx1), as the enzyme responsible for the typical "respiratory burst" observed at fertilization.[1]
During this burst, extracellular oxygen is turned into hydrogen peroxide, which is released into the perivitelline space around the egg as part of the metabolic reactions aimed at avoiding polyspermy.
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