Abstract
A histochemical demonstration of proteins, polysaccharides and lipids was carried out in the oocytes of 8 Japanese black bears(Ursus thibetanus japonicus)captured in Niigata Prefecture during the period from September 1996 to May 1997. The cytoplasm of oocytes always contained acrolein-Schiff reactive proteins and periodic acid-Schiff reactive glycogen granules, and the amount of glycogen in the oocytes increased during folliculogenesis. The cytoplasm of oocytes from primary, secondary and antral follicles also possessed acid polysaccharides stainable with alcian blue, Sudanophilic lipids, neutral fats stainable with nile blue sulfate and lipoids reactive with Ciaccio method. The amount of these lipids in the oocytes increased with the advance of follicular development. On the other hand, the zonae pellucidae of oocytes always contained proteins, periodic acid-Schiff reactive and salivary test-resistant neutral polysaccharides, and acid polysaccharides, but not lipids.
