Fertilisation

Historical Perspective of Fertilisation:

• Aristotle’s proposal on the fusion of male and female fluids.
• Spallanzani’s demonstration of the need for interaction between ovum and sperm in frogs.
• Von Baer’s observation of mammalian eggs in 1827.
• Hertwig’s description of sperm and ova fusion in sea urchins in 1876.
• Introduction of epigenetics by Aristotle for the gradual emergence of form and function in new individuals.

Mechanisms of Fertilisation:

• Three steps ensuring species-specificity in animals: Chemotaxis, Sperm activation, Sperm/egg adhesion.
• Pollen tube growth in plants for sperm delivery.
• Rupture of pollen tube in plants mediated by chemical cues and ROS levels.
• Sperm transport and interaction in mammals during internal fertilisation.
• Specific proteins and processes involved in sperm-egg binding and fusion in various organisms.

Variability in Fertilisation Processes:

• Different methods of gamete fertilisation in plant groups.
• Double fertilisation in flowering plants involving two sperm cells.
• Self-pollination and outcrossing ratios in plant species.
• Internal vs. external fertilisation in animals and their advantages.
• Variants of bisexual reproduction like gynogenesis and hybridogenesis.

Genetic and Evolutionary Aspects of Fertilisation:

• Meiosis and genetic recombination leading to genetic uniqueness.
• Benefits of cross-fertilisation in genetic variability and adaptation.
• Implications of fertilisation on genetic diversity and extinction avoidance.
• Evolutionary significance of fertilisation in genetic diversity and adaptation.
• Errors in genome unification and deviations in meiosis in various organisms.

Research and Studies on Fertilisation:

• Evolution of meiosis and double fertilisation in plants.
• Distribution of plant mating systems and biases against outcrossing species.
• Studies on sperm centrioles, genome unification errors, and parthenogenesis.
• Population genetics of sex and recombination.
• Role of sperm in human reproduction and evolutionary advantages of sexual reproduction.

Fertilisation Data Sources