RNA IN SPERM: TOWARDS AN IDENTIFICATION OF RNAs TRANSMITTED FROM SPERM TO ZYGOTE ON FERTILIZATION

INTRODUCTION It is widely recognized that all that fathers essentially contribute to the next generation is half of their genome, and mature sperm cells are transcriptionally and translationally inactive. However, an increasing number of reports have shown that RNAs were present in human sperm detected by using RT-PCR, differential display, in situ hybridization and microarrays [1]. One study showed delivery of human RNAs from the sperm to the oocyte on fertilization using the hamster sperm penetration assay [2]. Intriguingly, recent evidence suggests that sperm RNA has the potential to influence phenotype through an epigenetic alteration to gene expression without affecting genotype [3]. Therefore, it is very tempting to identify transcripts in the sperm, which might have an important role in spermatogenesis and/or embryogenesis.