sperms are highly specialized cells for delivering dna from male to the ovum. incredibly, wide degree of diversity in sperm morphology in their basic structures i.e. head, middle piece and tail is found across species. differences in terms of overall size of the sperm, shape and number of sperm produced are also incredible. one of the key for this variations or diversity in sperm may be associa...

During fertilization, the sea urchin sperm acrosome reaction (AR), an ion channel-regulated event, is triggered by glycoproteins in egg jelly (EJ). A 210-kD sperm membrane glycoprotein is the receptor for EJ (REJ). This conclusion is based on the following data: purified REJ binds species specifically to EJ dotted onto nitrocellulose, an mAb to REJ induces the sperm AR, antibody induction is bl...

Several taxa of simultaneously hermaphroditic land snails exhibit a conspicuous mating behaviour, the so-called shooting of love darts. During mating, such land snail species transfer a specific secretion by stabbing a mating partner's body with the love dart. It has been shown that sperm donors benefit from this traumatic secretion transfer, because the secretions manipulate the physiology of ...

Development of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) in the dog has resisted progress for decades, due to their unique reproductive physiology. This lack of progress is remarkable given the critical role ART could play in conserving endangered canid species or eradicating heritable disease through gene-editing technologies-an approach that would also advance the dog as a biomedical model. Ov...

This book presents summaries by specialists of subjects related directly or indirectly to conception. The first five papers deal with male and female germ cells-their production, protection, release, and early transport. Chapters follow on fertilization, transportation of the zygote, and implantation. Finally there is consideration of immunological phenomena relating to fertility and fertility ...

For the couple having trouble achieving pregnancy, the options and opportunities for assistance have never been brighter. Options such as controlled ovarian hyperstimulation, in vitro fertilization, and intracytoplasmic sperm injection have been developed over the past five decades and provide hope for couples that previously would have been considered infertile. In vitro fertilization and intr...

Extraordinary advances have been achieved in the field of male infertility in the last decades. There are new concepts in sperm physiology and several modern tools for the assessment of spermatogenesis kinetics in vivo. New tests using molecular biology and DNA damage assays allow the clinician to correctly diagnose men so far classified as having idiopathic male infertility. In the field of tr...

Insect seminal fluid proteins are powerful modulators of many aspects of female physiology and behaviour including longevity, egg production, sperm storage, and remating. The crucial role of these proteins in reproduction makes them promising targets for developing tools aimed at reducing the population sizes of vectors of disease. In the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae, seminal secretions p...

Successful reproduction is critical to pass genes to the next generation. Seminal proteins contribute to important reproductive processes that lead to fertilization in species ranging from insects to mammals. In Drosophila, the male's accessory gland is a source of seminal fluid proteins that affect the reproductive output of males and females by altering female post-mating behavior and physiol...

Infertility is one of the most stressful conditions amongst married couples. Male factor infertility is implicated in almost half of these cases. Recent advances in the field of reproductive medicine have focused the attention of many researchers to consider reactive oxygen species (ROS) as one of the mediators of infertility causing sperm dysfunction. Although, ROS is involved in many physiolo...