University thesis:
Dissertation, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, 2024 (Kumulative Dissertation)
Footnote:
Description:
Fertilization of an oocyte by a sperm cell is a complex multi-stage process. First, a sperm cell must locate and reach the oocyte; second, it must undergo capacitation, the acrosome reaction, and hyperactivation to penetrate the oocyte’s investment; finally, the membranes of sperm and oocyte fuse with each other. Many hypotheses about fertilization in humans have been proposed based on studies conducted on non-human organisms. Recently, it became clear that concepts developed in one species do not hold for other species. Proteins involved in the fertilization process are often species-speci...