Year: 2020
Type: article
Abstract: One of the earliest and most prevalent barriers to successful reproduction is polyspermy, or fertilization of an egg by multiple sperm. To prevent these supernumerary fertilizations, eggs have evolved multiple mechanisms. It has recently been proposed that zinc released by mammalian eggs at fertilization may block additional sperm from entering. Here, we demonstrate that eggs from amphibia and teleost fish also release zinc. Using Xenopus laevis as a model, we document that zinc reversibly blocks fertilization. Finally, we demonstrate that extracellular zinc similarly disrupts early embryonic development in eggs from diverse phyla, including Cnidaria, Echinodermata, and Chordata. Our study reveals that a fundamental strategy protecting human eggs from fertilization by multiple sperm may have evolved more than 650 million years ago.
Source: PLoS Biology
Authors: Katherine L. Wozniak, Rachel E. Bainbridge, Dominique W. Summerville, Maiwase Tembo, Wesley A. Phelps, Monica L. Sauer, Bennett W. Wisner, Madelyn E. Czekalski, Srikavya Pasumarthy, Meghan L. Hanson, Melania B. Linderman, Catherine H. Luu, Madison E. Boehm, Steven M. Sanders, Katherine M. Buckley, Daniel J. Bain, Matthew L. Nicotra, Miler T. Lee, Anne E. Carlson
Institutions: University of Pittsburgh, Auburn University
Language: English
Subfield: Physiology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,000
Funders: National Science Foundation, American Heart Association, National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
OpenAlex ID: W3045783212