Molecular models for mouse sperm-oocyte binding

Binding of sperm to egg in the mouse has been proposed to depend primarily on interactions between lectin-like egg-binding proteins on the sperm plasma membrane and complementary carbohydrates on the specialized extracellular matrix of the egg known as the zona pellucida. An alternative model posits that initial sperm-egg binding depends on the interaction of a sperm surface protein with a supramolecular complex of the three mouse zona pellucida glycoproteins (mZP1, mZP2, mZP3); the role of carbohydrate recognition in this paradigm is thought to be minimal (Gahlay G, Gauthier L, Baibakov B, Epifano O, Dean J. 2010. Gamete recognition in mice depends on the cleavage status of an egg's zona pellucida protein. Science. 329:216-219). This perspective reviews these recent findings, and considers them in light of evidence favoring a major role for lectin-like interactions. An alternative model, the domain specific model for mammalian gamete binding, could reconcile some of the conflicting observations.