High-density lipoprotein associated with secondary vitellogenesis in the hemolymph of the crayfish Cherax quadricarinatus

The high-density lipoproteins LPI and LPII were isolated from the hemolymph of the crayfish Cherax quadricarinatus by gradient ultracentrifugation and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Both lipoproteins contained a carotenoid moiety. LPI is comprised of a single polypeptide with an appr oximate molecular mass of 96 kDa. LPII was composed of two similar native c omponents, LPIIa and LPIIb, both having polypeptides of 80 and 177 kDa. Bot h under natural conditions and after endocrine manipulations, LPI was prese nt in males and in females, regardless of the female reproductive stage. I- PII was present only in secondary-vitellogenic females, but not during the winter reproductive arrest period. LPII was also absent from young females that had received androgenic gland implants. LPII also appeared in the hemo lymph of intersex individuals from which the androgenic gland had bean remo ved. It is therefore suggested that LPII serves as a marker indicating the onset of secondary vitellogenesis in C. quadricalinatus females. (C) 2000 E lsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.