Is sperm chromatin packaging relevant for IVF success?

Copyright: © 2011 Tosti E, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Spermiogenesis is the last phase of the process that give rise to a mature and competent spermatozoon. It occurs from a dramatic morphological and structural change of the spermatid, in particular replacement of DNA-linked histones by protamines leading to a highly compact chromatin structure consisting of DNA and heterogeneous nucleoproteins. The target of a fertilizing spermatozoon is to deliver into the oocyte the paternal genome and regulatory factors that are required for proper embryonic development [1]. To do this the sperm must be capable of undergoing decondensation at a peculiar moment of the fertilization process.