Adv Exp Med Biol 2014 Jan 01;759:1-11. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-0817-2_1.

Sperm proteases and extracellular ubiquitin-proteasome system involved in fertilization of ascidians and sea urchins.

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Ascidians (primitive chordates) are hermaphroditic animals that release spermatozoa and eggs almost simultaneously, but some species, including Halocynthia roretzi, show strict self-sterility. In H. roretzi, a 70-kDa vitelline coat (VC) protein consisting of 12 EGF-like repeats, named HrVC70, appears to be a promising candidate for the self/nonself-recognition (or allorecognition) system during gamete interaction. After spermatozoon recognizes the VC as nonself, sperm 700-kDa extracellular ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme complex appears to ubiquitinate Lys234 of HrVC70, and the ubiquitinated HrVC70 is degraded by the sperm 26S proteasome that is located on the sperm head surface. This novel ubiquitin-proteasome system enables spermatozoa to penetrate through the VC. Sperm trypsin-like proteases, acrosin and spermosin, also participate in fertilization, probably as sperm-side ''movable'' binding proteins to the VC.

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Genes referenced: LOC100887844 LOC100889782 LOC100893461 LOC105441151 LOC579769 psmg1