A s w e y of the sex-ratio and gonadal index of sea stars Pisaster ohraceus (Brandt, 1835) at 2 sites on the southern coast of British Columbia, Canada, revealed an e~izootic disease affectina the testes. The disease reduced the

We have investigated the differences between nuclear genomes of two purportedly congeneric species of sea urchin that differ radically in early development. Heliocidaris tuberculata develops by means of a typical pluteus larva, whereas H. erythrogramma develops directly from an egg that is 100-fold the volume of the H. tuberculata egg. Reassociation kinetic analysis shows that the kinetic components of the genomic DNA from the two species are essentially the same. No single repeat component explains the 30% difference between the H. erythrogramma and H. tuberculata genomes. Reciprocal hybridization of tracer-labeled single-copy DNA fractions between these species indicates that approximately 50% of the single-copy DNA is sufficiently similar to form hybrids at standard hybridization criterion. Thermal denaturation profiles of the hybridized single-copy DNA sequence yields median (T50H) values of 13.8 degrees-16.5 degrees C. This result suggests a divergence time of 10-13 Mya, which is comparable to divergence times between congeneric sea urchin species in other genera that do not differ significantly in development. Radical differences in early developmental processes can evolve rapidly between closely related forms.

Unlike sea urchins, sea stars have little stored histone RNA in their eggs. In an effort to quantify this difference, we have measured H3 RNA concentration in eggs and embryos of the sea star Pisaster ochraceus. The amount of H3 transcript in P. ochraceus 12-h embryos has been measured by RNA excess hybridization kinetics, using a single-strand 32P-labelled coding sequence probe. There are 1 × 105 H3 transcripts in each 12-h embryo. Putative egg H3 transcript concentration was estimated by reciprocal plots. The number of egg H3 homologous sequences (150/egg) is at least an order of magnitude less than rare complex-class, single-copy nuclear DN A transcripts. Slot blots and Northern blots indicate that sea star embryos do not reach the level of H3 transcript abundance seen in sea urchins until at least 16 h of development.

We have investigated actin gene expression during the annual spermatogenic cycle of Pisaster ochraceus by Northern blot analyses of testes RNAs pooled from defined spermatogenic stages. Specific probes for cytoplasmic (Cy) and muscle (M) actin gene products detect 2.3 and 2.1 kb transcripts, respectively. In addition, actin-coding sequence probes detect a third, much larger (3.5 kb) transcript designated FAT. Preliminary sequence analyses of two cDNAs representing portions of the FAT transcript show over 90% homology to Pisaster Cy actin at the amino acid level but only 80% nucleotide identity. The expression patterns of these three transcripts, plus two spermiogenic indicator transcripts (H3 histone and beta-tubulin), were determined over the cycle. The Cy transcript is seen at all stages but is ten- to 100-fold higher early in the cycle when mitotic activity predominates. The M transcript appears at the onset of gonadal growth and is maintained at constant levels through spermatogenesis consistent with the expansion of the muscular sheath surrounding the testes. The FAT, H3 histone, and beta-tubulin transcripts reach their highest levels in ripe testes when spermiogenic activity is maximal. The homology of the FAT transcript to actin, and its pattern of expression, suggest the hypothesis that this transcript may encode acrosomal actin.