Fertilization (outline Studies In Biology)

E. B. Wilson stated in the preface to the third edition of The Cell in Development and Heredity: 'Every writer must treat the subject from the standpoint given by those fields of wnrk in which he is most at home; and at best he can only try to indicate a few of the points of contact between those fields and others'. The aim of this book is to provide an overview of structural and functional aspects of fertiliz­ ation processes in a manner that would be helpful not only to specialists in the field but also to investigators in related disciplines and to advanced undergraduate and graduate students in the bio­ logical sciences. Fundamental descriptive accounts at the light and electron microscopic levels of observation have been combined with analytical studies - physiological and biochemical investigations of fertilization in invertebrates and vertebrates. A comparative approach to fertilization is presented and, although a variety of animals are referred to, additional space is purposely given to organisms that have been, and continue to be, popular research material. The text does not pretend to be comprehensive and admittedly does not cover all aspects of the field or areas related to the general subject. Historical reviews and technical details are presented only to the extent necessary to formulate an orientation to and a perspective on individual topics. Content: Front Matter....Pages i-viii General considerations of fertilization: A definition....Pages 1-2 Sperm activation....Pages 3-23 Sperm-egg binding....Pages 24-27 Gamete fusion and sperm incorporation....Pages 28-42 Egg activation: Ion changes....Pages 43-50 Blocks to polyspermy and the cortical granule reaction....Pages 51-68 Alterations in the egg cortex and cytoskeleton at fertilization....Pages 69-77 Resumption of meiotic maturation....Pages 78-100 Metabolic alterations at egg activation....Pages 101-116 Development of the male pronucleus....Pages 117-125 Aspects regulating the development of male pronuclei....Pages 126-131 Fates of incorporated sperm mitochondria, flagella and perinuclear structures....Pages 132-134 Development of the sperm aster and pronuclear migration....Pages 135-140 Association of the male and female pronuclei: The concluding events of fertilization....Pages 141-152 Back Matter....Pages 153-183