fertilizationThe acrosome reaction of spermatozoa is a prerequisite for the association between a spermatozoon and an egg, which occurs through fusion of their plasma membranes. After a spermatozoon comes in contact with an egg, the acrosome, which is a prominence at the anterior tip of the spermatozoa, undergoes a series of well-defined structural changes. A structure within the acrosome, called the...
semen...Upon reaching an egg, enzymes contained within the sperm acrosome are activated, enabling the sperm to traverse the thick coat surrounding the egg (the zona pellucida); this process is known as the acrosome reaction. The membrane of the sperm cell then fuses with that of the egg, and the sperm nucleus is conveyed into the egg.
work of YanagimachiYanagimachi was among the first embryologists to study the acrosome reaction, the process by which a sperm penetrates the zona pellucida, allowing it to bind to the plasma membrane of an egg. He determined in 1970 that only sperm that had undergone the reaction could bind to the plasma membrane. A 1976 study conducted by his team showed that hamster eggs from which the zona pellucida had been...
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