Quantitative analysis of metamorphosis induced by L-glutamine in embryos of the sea urchin, Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus.

Metamorphosis of the sea urchin, Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus, can be induced by L-glutamine as reported previously for Pseudocentrotus depressus [15]. To analyze more precisely the process of metamorphosis induced by L-glutamine, the development of the echinus rudiment (ER) was classified into six stages. The stage at which the larvae underwent the normal metamorphosis by glutamine treatment was confirmed. The time of the glutamine treatment required for metamorphosis (the eversion of ER) was over 10 hr but treatment for more than 25 hr tended to decrease the number of metamorphosed larvae, although the larval arms had mostly been resorbed. The time of glutamine treatment to induce the metamorphosis, depended on the development of ER; more time was required for the younger larvae and less time for the older. The high mitotic activities observed in the cells of the ciliary bands were markedly decreased in the glutamine-treated larvae to metamorphose. These findings suggested that a degenerative process of metamorphosis including cell death is induced by L-glutamine.