Oocytes of the starfish Pisaster ochraceus exhibit an early response to 1-methyladenine (the maturation-inducing hormone), which is described for the first time. In this response approximately 6,500 spikelike surface projections, much larger than microvilli, emerge transiently from oocytes stripped of their follicle cells and then treated with the hormone in vitro. Each spike contains a promine...