Extracellular matrix synthesis in blastula and gastrula stages of normal and hybrid frog embryos. IV. Biochemical and autoradiographic observations on fucose-, glucose-, and mannose-labelled materials.

Normal Rana pipiens gastrulae show more incorporation of isotopically labelled fucose, glucose, and mannose into TCA-insoluble materials than blastulae. Interspecific hybrid embryos which undergo developmental arrest at the onset of gastrulation often synthesize reduced amounts of fucose-, glucose- and mannose-labelled materials. These materials are high-molecular weight and are degraded by Pronase into fragments which are included in Sepharose CL-4B but excluded from Sephadex G-50. Labelled materials contain label predominantly in fucose and galactose with little label in glucose or mannose. Labelled materials migrate slowly on cellulose acetate, bind to DEAE-cellulose and elute at low ionic strength and are precipitated by cetyl pyridinium chloride (CPC) without the addition of carrier compounds. Pulse-chase labelling experiments and light- and electron-microscopic autoradiography were used to examine the site of synthesis, mode of transport, and sites of deposition of fucose-, glucose- and mannose-labelled materials in different developmental stages of normal developing Rana pipiens embryos and interspecific hybrid embryos formed by fertilizing the eggs of R. pipiens with the sperm of R. catesbeiana. In both normal and hybrid embryos, after a 15-30-min pulse, grains are closely associated with juxtanuclear and cytoplasmic collections of membrane-bound vesicles which resemble the Golgi apparatus. In normal embryos following a 15-30-min pulse and a 60-min chase, grains are largely cleared from the cytoplasmic vesicles and deposited in the extracellular spaces or along cell surfaces. In contrast, arrested hybrid embryos given a 15-30-min pulse and a 60-min chase show a marked accumulation of grains over cytoplasmic structures such as the Golgi apparatus and vesicular elements in the cell cortex. Certain interesting features of regional variation in synthetic activity in developing normal embryos are also described.