PUBLICATION
Zinc protection of fertilized eggs is an ancient feature of sexual reproduction in animals
- Authors
- Wozniak, K.L., Bainbridge, R.E., Summerville, D.W., Tembo, M., Phelps, W.A., Sauer, M.L., Wisner, B.W., Czekalski, M.E., Pasumarthy, S., Hanson, M.L., Linderman, M.B., Luu, C.H., Boehm, M.E., Sanders, S.M., Buckley, K.M., Bain, D.J., Nicotra, M.L., Lee, M.T., Carlson, A.E.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-200908-1
- Date
- 2020
- Source
- PLoS Biology 18: e3000811 (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Lee, Miler
- Keywords
- none
- MeSH Terms
-
- Ambystoma mexicanum
- Animals
- Female
- Fertilization*
- Hydrozoa
- Male
- Oocytes/metabolism*
- Strongylocentrotus purpuratus
- Xenopus laevis
- Zebrafish
- Zinc/metabolism*
- PubMed
- 32735558 Full text @ PLoS Biol.
Citation
Wozniak, K.L., Bainbridge, R.E., Summerville, D.W., Tembo, M., Phelps, W.A., Sauer, M.L., Wisner, B.W., Czekalski, M.E., Pasumarthy, S., Hanson, M.L., Linderman, M.B., Luu, C.H., Boehm, M.E., Sanders, S.M., Buckley, K.M., Bain, D.J., Nicotra, M.L., Lee, M.T., Carlson, A.E. (2020) Zinc protection of fertilized eggs is an ancient feature of sexual reproduction in animals. PLoS Biology. 18:e3000811.
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.
Genes / Markers
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping