The full-grown oocytes obtained from toad (bufo bufo gargarizans) submitted in hibernation state or reared at 25-30 degrees C for several months, named hibernation oocyte or high temperature oocyte, had a membrane potential of -41.51 +/- 0.77 mV and -43.83 +/- 1.39 mV in Ringer's solution respectively. The hibernation oocytes underwent GVBD (germinal vesicle breakdown) and membrane depolarization at 19 +/- 1 degree C after progesterone stimulation. The membrane potential was about -20 mV at the period of GVBD, and -10 mV or so at 20 hours after the hormone treatment. However, the high temperature oocytes did not undergo GVBD, their membrane potential decreased before the fourth hour after treatment with progesterone and then recovered. If the hibernation oocytes were preincubated at 37-38 degrees C for 13 hours prior to the culture in the medium containing progesterone (10(-6)M, 37-38 degrees C), no GVBD was observed and the membrane depolarized before the fourth hour after treatment with progesterone then recovered, but MPF was detectable in the cytoplasm (unpublished). Both GVBD and membrane depolarization appeared in the hibernation oocytes and high temperature oocytes after injection of MPF. The time required for the hibernation oocytes injected MPF to attain the membrane potential about -20 mV was 4 hours earlier than that of progesterone treatment. It was just the time required for the appearance of MPF in the cytoplasm of oocytes treated with the hormone. It was noticed in our precedent article that a factor which appeared in the cytoplasm of high temperature oocytes differed from MPF. The factor was called Hibernation Oocyte Mature Promoting Factor (HOMPF).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)