Fertilized oocytes digest paternal mitochondria
Thursday, November 3, 2011 - 15:31
in Biology & Nature
During fertilization, the entire spermatozoon enters the oocyte. However, most of its organelles, including mitochondria, are not transmitted to the offspring. A new study demonstrates for the first time how the spermatozoon organelles are digested by the oocyte shortly after fertilization. These findings could improve cloning and medically-assisted reproductive technology and help to better understand the evolutionary origin of the elimination of paternal mitochondria.
