TY  - GEN
T1  - Actin polymerization is not required for the fast block to polyspermy in the African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis
AU  - Tembo, Maiwase
AU  - Sauer, Monica L
AU  - Wisner, Bennett W
AU  - Beleny, David O
AU  - Napolitano, Marc A
AU  - Carlson, Anne E
DO  - 10.17912/micropub.biology.000365
UR  - http://beta.micropublication.org/journals/biology/micropub-biology-000365/
AB  - For most animals, polyspermic fertilization of eggs is embryonic lethal (Bianchi and Wright, 2016) and must be prevented. Eggs of externally fertilizing animals employ a mechanism known as the fast block to polyspermy to inhibit fertilization by more than one sperm (Bianchi and Wright, 2016). Within seconds of fertilization, the fast block activates a depolarization of the egg membrane (Wozniak et al., 2018). Sperm can bind to, but not enter, depolarized eggs (Jaffe, 1976). In addition to becoming depolarized, the egg also extends polymers of actin to bring in sperm at fertilization in externally fertilizing animals such as sea urchins, starfish, and zebrafish (Silvestre and Tosti et al. 2010). Because actin plays a prominent role bringing sperm into the of eggs of many externally fertilizing animals, we hypothesized that actin polymerization is needed for the fast block to polyspermy in the African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis.
PY  - 2021
JO  - microPublication Biology
ER  -