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In order to investigate the control of the onset of postecdysial mineralization of the cuticle of the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, EDTA-soluble proteins and glycoproteins were analyzed at short intervals after ecdysis by SDS-PAGE. Gels were either stained with silver, blotted to polyvinylidene difluoride membranes and stained with periodic acidlschiff reagent (PAS), or blotted to nitrocellulose membranes and probed with a variety of lectins [particularly the mannose-binding lectins concanavalin A (Con A) and GaZanthus niualis agglutinin (GNAjI.Pieces of cuticle were also tested for their ability to nucleate calcite in vitro. A major change occurred in the biochemistry of the cuticle between 1 and 3 hr after ecdysis. This change, which we term the post-ecdysial cuticle alteration (PECA), involved 1) loss of a major 66 kDa glycoprotein band, 2) decrease in Con A binding by a 79 kDa protein band, 3) complete loss of PASreactivity of both 66 and 79 kDa proteins, 4) gain in Con A affinity of an existing band a t 73 kDa, and 5) an increase in the intrinsic ability of cell-free cuticle pieces to mineralize, as measured by the in vitro calcite crystal nucleation assay o 1995 WiIey-Liss, Inc.

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