Fertilisation - Fertilisation in Animals

Fertilisation in Animals

The mechanics behind fertilisation has been studied extensively in sea urchins and mice. This research addresses the question of how the sperm and the appropriate egg find each other and the question of how only one sperm gets into the egg and delivers its contents. There are three steps to fertilisation that ensure species-specificity:

1. Chemotaxis
2. Sperm activation/acrosomal reaction
3. Sperm/egg adhesion