Spontaneous maturation in Bufo arenarum oocytes: follicle wall involvement, respiratory activity, and seasonal influences.

The various somatic cell layers (surface epithelium, theca, and follicle cells) that envelope the amphibian oocyte were removed one by one. The various follicular preparations thus obtained were tested for their ability to undergo germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD) in the presence or absence of progesterone during different seasonal periods. Intact follicles, follicles without epithelium, or defolliculated oocytes (without epithelium and theca layers) did not undergo GVBD when cultured in Ringer solution, unless progesterone was added to the culture medium. In contrast, denuded oocytes (lacking all follicular layers) cultured in a medium with no hormones underwent GVBD in percentages similar to those of denuded oocytes incubated with progesterone. This ability of denuded oocytes to undergo spontaneous maturation was found to be related to the respiratory activity of the oocyte, which is in turn a seasonal variable in Bufo arenarum. The different respiratory activity of the full-grown oocyte according to the seasonal period was expressed by the respiratory control quotient (around 1.0 during winter and 4.0 during summer). In fact, only those oocytes with a respiratory control quotient over 2.0 were able to undergo spontaneous nuclear maturation. The maturation obtained without exogenous hormonal stimulus was genuine as indicated by the ability of these oocytes to induce pronuclear formation after sperm injection.