Abstract
Fertilization is a cell biological phenomenon of crucial importance for the birth of new life in a variety of multicellular and sexual reproduction species such as algae, animal and plants. Fertilization involves a sequence of events, in which the female gamete “egg” and the male gamete “spermatozoon (sperm)” develop, acquire their functions, meet and fuse with each other, to initiate embryonic and zygotic development. Here, it will be briefly reviewed how oocyte cytoplasmic components are orchestrated to undergo hormone-induced oocyte maturation and sperm-induced activation of development. I then review how sperm-egg membrane interaction/fusion and activation of development in the fertilized egg are accomplished and regulated through egg coat- or egg plasma membrane-associated components, highlighting recent findings and future directions in the studies using Xenopus laevis as a model experimental animal.
Highlights
Laboratory of Cell Signaling and Development, Department of Molecular Biosciences, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kyoto Sangyo University, Kamigamo-motoyama, Kita-ku, Academic Editor: Kenji Murata
Oocyte maturation, which is undertaken during the meiotic cell cycle that is arrested at several stages depending on the species, has been studied extensively in many species of vertebrates and invertebrates [1,2,3,4,5,6]; studies on frog systems in particular have contributed to a detailed understanding of its biochemical nature [7,8]
The oocyte meiotic cell cycle starts during the fetal stage, but its first arrest occurs in the first meiotic prophase (Pro-I), which may last for several months or years in the follicular or ovarian microenvironment, depending on the species [9,10,11,12]
Summary
Meiosis is the process by which diploid germ-line cell reduces their genetic material by half to generate haploid gametes. Oocyte maturation, which is undertaken during the meiotic cell cycle that is arrested at several stages depending on the species, has been studied extensively in many species of vertebrates and invertebrates [1,2,3,4,5,6]; studies on frog systems in particular have contributed to a detailed understanding of its biochemical nature [7,8]. The oocyte meiotic cell cycle starts during the fetal stage, but its first arrest occurs in the first meiotic prophase (Pro-I), which may last for several months or years in the follicular or ovarian microenvironment, depending on the species [9,10,11,12].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
