Identification and evaluation of sperm surface molecules involved in the molecular mechanisms of avian egg-sperm interactions

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Vertetbrate egg cell is covered with a proteinous membrane called egg coat or zona pellucida. The egg coat being composed of 3-5 classes of ZP glycoproteins play important roles in fertilization to accept and activate sperm followed by the successful fusion with egg. We are studying on chicken egg coat and contributed to solve 3D structure of one of the ZP glycoproteins, ZP3, which is involved in the egg-sperm recognition. Furthermore, we revealed the sperm binding site on the ZP3 molecule using recombinant proteins based on the structural information of ZP3. In addition, we revealed that the isoforms of chicken ZP3 possess different types of sugar chains each other.