Journal
JOURNAL OF CELL BIOLOGY
Volume 148, Issue 6, Pages 1107-1113Publisher
ROCKEFELLER UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1083/jcb.148.6.1107
Keywords
spermatozoa; reverse transcriptase; retroposon; nuclear scaffold; fertilization
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
We show here that a reverse transcriptase (RT) activity is present in murine epididymal spermatozoa, Sperm cells incubated with human poliovirus RNA can take up exogenous RNA molecules and internalize them in nuclei. Direct PCR amplification of DNA extracted from RNA-incubated spermatozoa indicate that poliovirus RNA is reverse-transcribed in cDNA fragments. PCR analysis of two-cell embryos shows that poliovirus RNA-challenged spermatozoa transfer retrotranscribed cDNA molecules into eggs during in vitro fertilization. Finally, RT molecules can be visualized on sperm nuclear scaffolds by immunogold electron microscopy, These results, therefore, reveal a novel metabolic function in spermatozoa, which may play a role during early embryonic development.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available