title: The quest for the sea urchin egg receptor for sperm.
abstract: This review discusses identification, isolation and characterization of proteins mediating species-selective sperm-to-egg adhesion during sea urchin fertilization. Bindin is the only sea urchin sperm protein known to mediate species-selective sperm attachment to eggs. Two completely different egg surface proteins, 350-kDa and EBR1, have affinity for bindin and each one meets all the criteria to be a species-selective sperm receptor. Experiments suggest that sperm bindin recognizes both the sulfated O-linked oligosaccharides on the egg 350-kDa glycoprotein, and also the repeated protein sequence modules of EBR1.
authors.affiliation: Marine Biology Research Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0202, USA. vvacquier@ucsd.edu
authors.forename: Victor D
authors.initials: VD
authors.lastname: Vacquier
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D008297:Male; D008561:Membrane Fusion; D010063:Ovum / Q000502:physiology; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012617:Sea Urchins / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D013084:Sperm-Ovum Interactions; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; C035027:egg surface sperm receptor