RAMAT GAN, Israel, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- Scientists at Israel's Bar-Ilan University studying the molecular genetics of fertilization say they have found protein translation occurs in sperm.
The scientists said they obtained the insight by studying the cellular changes that occur in sperm while they reside in the female reproductive tract.
It had been believed for decades that spermatozoa are translationally silent. However, researchers Yael Gur and Haim Breitbart have shown protein translation does take place in mammalian sperm prior to fertilization.
After ejaculation, sperm reside in the female reproductive tract for several hours. During that time, a number of biochemical changes take place within sperm, collectively known as "capacitation," that render the sperm competent to penetrate and fertilize the female oocyte.
In their study, Gur and Breitbart demonstrate human, rat, bovine and mouse sperm all incorporate labeled amino acids into polypeptides during the capacitation phase and it is essential for sperm functions that directly contribute to fertilization.
Breitbart says he's confident the findings will provide better understanding for treatment of male infertility and developing new male or female contraceptives.
The study appears in the journal Genes & Development.
