Profiles of the female-specific serum protein in the Japanese river lamprey, Lampetra japonica (Martens), and the sand lamprey, Lampetra reissneri (Dybowski), in relation to sexual maturation.

The occurrence of female-specific serum protein (FSSP) was examined in the anadromous lamprey, Lampetra japonica, and a freshwater lamprey, Lampetra reissneri, by an immunodiffusion technique using antiserum raised against the serum of sexually mature female lamprey. A considerable amount of FSSP was consistently detected in the blood of vitellogenic, but not in that of nonvitellogenic, females of both species of lampreys. The relative amount of the FSSP tended to become larger in female lampreys at the spawning period. The FSSP may correspond to the yolk precursor protein which is incorporated into ovarian oocytes during the period of exogenous vitellogenesis in the lampreys.