Sources of amino acids for protein synthesis during early organogenesis in the rat. 4. Mechanisms before envelopment of the embryo by the yolk sac.

It was previously shown that uptake and digestion of protein by the visceral yolk sac supplies almost all of the amino acid needed by the 9.5-11.5-day rat conceptus cultured in vitro. Our aim was to test the hypothesis that protein uptake and digestion may not be as important as an amino acid source in the 8.5-9.5-day period, a stage of development before the yolk sac placenta envelops the embryo and before the vitelline circulation is established. Eight and a half-day rat conceptuses were cultured in serum supplemented with trace amounts of free [3H]leucine, [3H]leucine-containing serum proteins, free [3H]methionine or [3H]methionine-containing serum proteins. The incorporation of radiolabelled amino acid into acid-soluble and acid-insoluble fractions of the conceptus was determined. Leucine from either source was incorporated principally into proteins of the conceptus, but a greater proportion of the methionine incorporated was found in the low molecular weight fraction. It is estimated that 88 per cent of the leucine and 96 per cent of the methionine used by the conceptus was derived from protein in the culture serum; free amino acid comprised a minor supply source. We conclude that, despite the different anatomic relationships, the majority of amino acid incorporated into newly synthesized proteins of the conceptus very early in organogenesis is supplied by the digestion of protein in extraembryonic tissue, most likely the visceral yolk sac.