Ovoperoxidase from Sea Urchins

The Sea Urchins

Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratories is the vendor through which we purchased the sea urchins for research. We purchased around 12 fertilized sea urchins, and were able to collect eggs from one sea urchin out of the first batch.

Below is a link to the website from which we ordered the sea urchins:

Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratories

The following link contains magnified photos of the sea urchin eggs we abstracted.

Sea Urchin Eggs

Egg Extraction

0.5 mL of 0.55 M KCl was injected into the sea urchins to cause them to release their eggs/sperm. 0.25 mL was injected into either side of the mouth. After the KCl was injected, the urchins were overturned on a beaker to release the eggs/sperm.

The first round of sea urchins had only 4 females.

Instrumentation

The UV-Vis is the main instrument we use to analyze the peroxidase.

The following link explains the procedure used with the UV-Vis.

UV-Vis

References

Sea Urchin Fertilization Lab

Stanford Sea Urchin Education

Scots J-Term Andros Island

January 4th through January 12th of 2019 my research advisor, Brad Sturgeon, along with 7 other students and myself, visited Forfar Field Station on Andros Island in the Bahamas. There I was able to learn about the natural environment of sea urchins We also gained field experience by studying them through snorkeling. The interns at Forfar were very knowledgeable about the area and the creatures inhabiting the ocean around the island.

Below is a link to an article written about the trip as a whole:

Bahamas Trip