Mammalian spermatozoa have complex structures. The structure-function relationship of sperm has been studied from various viewpoints. Accumulated evidence has shown that the sperm components undergo sequential changes from the beginning of spermatogenesis to the time of fertilization/embryogenesis. Structural analyses have been performed using various new techniques of light and electron microscopy as well as immunohistochemistry and immunocytochemistry in combination with specific probes such as antibodies against sperm components. Recently developed gene-manipulation techniques have accelerated investigations on the events that govern the relationship between the structure and molecular components of sperm. In addition, animal models with gene manipulations have been shown to exhibit various morphological and functional abnormalities that lead to infertility. In this book, I discuss the events that occur in the normal sperm head and govern the structure-function relationship from the time of spermatogenesis to that of fertilization or egg activation. In this regard, I describe dynamic modifications and maturation events occurring in sperm-head components and compare the outcomes of these events with the outcomes of their failure.

These studies set the stage for exploring both capacitation-related changes in the microheterogeneities within this domain and ensuing signaling events in response to stimuli for capacitation. Furthermore, my data have led to a complex model that involves several complementary mechanisms of lipid segregation acting at different spatial scales. Testing this model will be the subject of continuing investigations.

Introduction to Mammalian Reproduction is a welcome contribution to the fields of gametogenesis, gamete transport, fertilization, and reproduction technologies. Key topics covered include: *formation and maturation of male gametes; *morphology and physiology of female gametes; *how the sperm meets the egg; *sperm-egg fusion, egg activation, and implantation of fertilized egg; *assisted reproduction and environmental chemicals that have an effect on formation and function of male and female gametes. This book is for both researchers and students involved in reproductive biology.

Originally published in 2006, this is a comprehensive and definitive account of the human male gamete. The volume summarizes many unique and revealing characteristics of the sperm cell. It provides a detailed overview of human sperm production, maturation and function, and looks at how these processes affect and influence fertility, infertility and ART. The volume thus provides a detailed review of the most important research and developments, augmented with pertinent references. This book will appeal to all practitioners and scientists in reproductive medicine and in particular to clinical scientists, graduate and post-graduate scientists, and laboratory personnel.

This valuable reference work provides a synthesis of the latest knowledge about the acrosomatic reaction of human sperm. The acrosomatic reaction, which is a fundamental step in the process of fertilisation, is examined on both the fundamental and clinical levels. Three very recent aspects are also dealt with: what happens to the acrosome during intracytoplasmic microinjections, the usefulness of screening spermatozoa that have completed their acrosomatic reaction, and the development of contraception by a vaccine that targets one of the proteins of the acrosome. International Symposium, Collioure, France, September 1995.

This book contains the proceedings of the International Symposium on the Mechanisms of Sexual Reproduction in Animals and Plants, where many plant and animal reproductive biologists gathered to discuss their recent progress in investigating the shared mechanisms and factors involved in sexual reproduction. This now is the first book that reviews recent progress in almost all fields of plant and animal fertilization. It was recently reported that the self-sterile mechanism of a hermaphroditic marine invertebrate (ascidian) is very similar to the self-incompatibility system in flowering plants. It was also found that a male factor expressed in the sperm cells of flowering plants is involved in gamete fusion not only of plants but also of animals and parasites. These discoveries have led to the consideration that the core mechanisms or factors involved in sexual reproduction may be shared by animals, plants and unicellular organisms. This valuable book is highly useful for reproductive biologists as well as for biological scientists outside this field in understanding the current progress of reproductive biology.