In most species, cortical granule exocytosis is characteristic of egg activation by sperm. It is a Ca2+-mediated event which results in elevation of the vitelline coat to block permanently the polyspermy at fertilization. We examined the effect of mastoparan, an activator of G-proteins, on the sea urchin egg activation. Mastoparan was able to induce, in a concentration-dependent manner, the egg cortical granule exocytosis; mastoparan-17, an inactive analogue of mastoparan, had no effect. Mastoparan, but not sperm, induced cortical granule exocytosis in eggs preloaded with BAPTA, a Ca2+ chelator. In isolated egg cortical lawns, which are vitelline layers and membrane fragments with endogenously docked cortical granules, mastoparan induced cortical granule fusion in a Ca2+-independent manner. By contrast, mastoparan-17 did not trigger fusion. We conclude that in sea urchin eggs mastoparan stimulates exocytosis at a Ca2+-independent late site of the signaling pathway that culminates in cortical granule discharge. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.