Isolation and characterization of a vitellogenesis‐inhibiting factor from sinus glands of the lobster, <i>Homarus americanus</i>

Abstract

Abstract A vitellogenesis‐inhibiting (VI) factor has been characterized from extracts of lobster sinus glands (SG) using an in vivo bioassay developed in the shrimp, Palaemonetes varians . After a two‐step purification by reversedphase high‐performance liquid chromatography (RP‐HPLC), the bioactivity is recovered in one symmetrical peak. Sodium dodecyl sulfate‐urea‐polyacryl‐amide gel electrophoresis (SDS‐urea‐PAGE) of the bioactive fractions reveals, after silver staining, the presence of only one band corresponding to a 7—8 kD peptide.