Attachment and Binding of the Sperm to the Zona Pellucida

Abstract

Sperm appear to bind to the surface of the zona pellucida by the plasma membrane overlying their acrosomes (Franklin et al., 1970; Gwatkin et al., 1976a). However, participation of the post-acrosomal region has not been excluded. Observations made by Hartmann et al. (1972) with a low-power light microscope have shown that hamster gametes in vitro associate by a complex series of interactions. During this time the sperm acrosome reaction which might explain some of their observations is probably taking place, but unfortunately, this event was not recorded by Hartmann et al. It will be important to repeat their experiments using the scanning electron microscope to reveal the full story of gamete association.