Contact of a sea urchin egg with signal molecules on sperm causes the egg to undergo a brief ________.
A) mitosis
B) membrane depolarization
C) vitellogenesis
D) acrosomal reaction

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Contact of sperm with the egg membrane causes depolarization of the egg membrane, which is a brief electrical change in the membrane potential. This enables the ion channels to open, leading to the release of intracellular calcium ions that initiate the fertilization process. The other options, mitosis, vitellogenesis, and acrosomal reaction, are not relevant to the initial step of egg fertilization.

Contact of a Sea Urchin Egg with Signal Molecules on Sperm