Vitelline envelope gps 63 and 75 specifically bind sperm in "in vitro" assays in discoglossus pictus

In Xenopus, conflicting data related to sperm–vitelline envelope (VE) binding suggest that further experiments should be performed to study the role of VE glycoproteins in sperm binding. In this article, we studied the VE of Discoglossus pictus, where gp63, the product of the Dp ZP2 gene, has high molecular identity to Xenopus gp69/64 and to mouse ZP2 and only A23187‐treated sperm bind to VE. Sperm bind to VE all over the egg, yet a sperm tuft was found only in the animal half of the egg, where the dimple, the site of fertilization, is located and an intense immunostain was detected in VE by an antiserum directed against gp69/64. The same antiserum inhibited sperm binding to VE. Sperm binding to beads coated with gp63, gp40, or gp75 was in the range of 62–70% for gp63‐beads, 67–75% for 75 beads, and about 20% for BSA beads and gp40‐coated beads. Soluble purified gp63 and gp75 competitively inhibited binding of sperm to gp63‐coated beads. Similarly, the same glycoproteins inhibited sperm binding to gp75‐coated beads. SDS–polyacrylamide gels (PAGE) of FE and comparison of VE and FE peptide maps showed that gp63 undergoes a minor shift to about 62 kDa in FE. In sperm binding assays with beads coated with FEs gp62, there was no binding. Following fertilization, in the region of the dimple, an F‐layer is formed as well as an alteration of the VE structure. Lectin blots of the FE showed that the FE and in particular gp62 acquires a stronger affinity to Maackia amurensis agglutinin (MAA) with respect to VEs gp63. These results indicate that gps 63 and 75 are the sperm binding glycoproteins of D. pictus VE, where major post‐fertilization changes occur as in other anuran species. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 68: 213–222, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.