Question

What are the maturation and capacitation sperm requirements?

Answer 1

Maturation and Capacitation Sperm

1. The physiological changes that spermatozoa must go through in order to penetrate and fertilize an egg are referred to as sperm capacitation.
2. Fertilization requires the union of a viable ovum and a fertile sperm.
3. Before a sperm cell is considered fertile, it must meet three main criteria.

Maturation

1. Maturity - Sperms go through a period of maturation during which they improve their swimming capacity.
2. When sperm pass through the epididymis, this happens.
3. It can last anywhere from 10 to 15 days and involves the removal of the cytoplasmic droplet.

Capacitation

1. Capacitation refers to the sperm's ability to fertilize eggs.
2. It is obtained through the sperm's presence in the uterine cavity and oviducts.
3. Loss of proteins from the sperm surface occurs during capacitation, which has a species-dependent time requirement.
4. It has also been demonstrated that capacitation is influenced by the environment's chemical makeup.

Acrosome response

1. A sperm must first fuse with the plasma membrane during fertilization before it can enter the female egg cell and fertilize it.
2. It is often not difficult to fuse to the egg cell, but it can be challenging to penetrate the egg's extracellular matrix or hard shell.