Ultrastructural Studies on Oocyte Development and Vitellogenesis in Oocytes During Oogenesis in Female Pampus echinogaster in western Korea

Abstract

The ultrastructural study on oocyt development and the process of vitellogensis in the oocytes during oogenesis in female Pampus echinogaster were investigated by electron microscope observations. In the previtellogenic phase, in particular, several intermitochondrial cements appear in the cytoplasms of the chromatin nucleleolus oocyte and perinuclear oocyte. The number of intermitochondrial cements are associated with the multiplication of the number of mitochondria in the early developmental stage. In the early vitellogenic phase, the Golgi complex in the cytoplasm of the yolk vesicle oocyte is involved in the formation of yolk vesicles containing carbohydrate yolks. At this time, many pinocytotic vesicles containing yolk precursors (exogenous substances) by pinocytosis are observed in the cytoplasm near the region of initial formation of the zona pellucida. In the late vitellogenic phase, two morphological different bodies, which formed by the modified mitochondria, appeared remarkably in the yolked oocytes. The one is the multivesicular bodies and another is yolk precursors. The multivesicular bodies were transformed into the primary yolk globules, while yolk precursors were connected with exogeneous pinocytotic vesicles near the zona pellucida. After the pinocytotic vesicles were taken into yolk precursors, the yolk precursors were transformed into the primary yolk globules. Thereafter, primary yolk globules mixed with each other, eventually, they developed into secondary and tertiary yolk globules. In this study, vitellogenesis of this species occurred by way of endogenous autosynthesis and exogenous heteogenesis. Vitellogenesis occurred through the processes of endogeneous autosynthesis, involving the combined activity of the Golgi complex, mitochondria and multivesicular bodies formed by modified mitochondria. However, the process of heterosynthesis involved pinocytotic incorporation of extraovarian precursors (such as vitellogenin in the liver) into the zona pellucida (by way of granulosa cells and thecal cells) of vitellogenic oocytes.