Special Issue "The Cell Biology of Fertilization"

Dear Colleagues,

Fertilization that is required for activating oocytes stimulated at different maturation stages is a critical process in embryo development. Since the beginning, the study of oogenesis and spermatogenesis and the many events that precede and follow the interaction of male and female gametes have highlighted the complexity of the fertilization process. During the past few years, significant advances have been made in deciphering the crucial role played by the structural reorganization of the cortex of oocytes during the maturation of several species that are necessary to ensure optimal fertilization conditions. Studies on the sequential spatial/temporal series of fast events regulating the fertilization process have provided live cell imaging methodologies and insights for clarifying the changes induced by the egg's extracellular coats on the sperm physiology and the interaction of species–species complementary receptors on the sperm and egg plasma membranes. Following gamete fusion, the changes in the egg plasma membrane potential, intracellular calcium and pH, and the subsequent actin remodeling to ensure monospermic fertilization and regulate cleavage demonstrate the complex program of cell signaling in sustaining the control of vital cellular activities. Thus, in addition to shedding light on the cell signaling between male and female gametes, studies on maturation and fertilization processes using large cells will help us understand the basic structural and biochemical mechanisms regulating critical cellular functions in response to a myriad of stimuli.

This Special Issue aims to assemble various lines of research to provide an in-depth description of the "state-of-the-art" regarding the fertilizability of gametes, their species-specific interaction, the signal transduction of egg activation, and cleavage.

Dr. Luigia Santella
Dr. Nunzia Limatola
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Cells is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• oocyte maturation
• acrosome reaction
• gamete interaction
• actin remodelling
• calcium
• monospermy

Title: Identification of a novel homozygous mutation in PLCzeta causing fertilization failure within patients undergoing fertility treatment in a Saudi population
Authors: Junaid Kashir 1,2, Sateesh Maddirevula 3, Meshael Aldeery 3, Wafa Qubbaj 3, Saad Alhassan 3, Fowzan S Alkuraya 4, Serdar Coskun 3
Affiliation: 1. Department of Biology, College of Arts and Science, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, UnitedArab Emirates; 2. Department of Comparative Medicine, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; 3. Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 4. Department of Genetics, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Title: Fertilisation, oocyte activation, and cytoplasmic dynamics: the underlying role of calcium-dependent players
Authors: Azhar Mohamud Abdukadir 1, Rawdah Taha Elbahrawi 1, Hamdan Hamdan 1, Junaid Kashir 2,3
Affiliation: 1. Department of Physiology and Immunology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; 2. Department of Biology, College of Arts and Science, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; 3. Department of Comparative Medicine, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Title: Ca2+ release in mammalian eggs: the roles of InsP3, PLCz and ATP.
Authors: Karl Swann
Affiliation: School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, The Sir Martin Evans Building, Cardiff, UK

Title: Differential transport of dynein subunits during spermatogenesis in ascidian spermatozoa
Authors: Haruka Sakurai, Alu Konno, Kogiku Shiba, Katsumi Takamura, Kazuo Inaba
Affiliation: Shimoda Marine Research Center, University of Tsukuba, 5-10-1, Shimoda, Shizuoka, 415-0025, Japan

Title: Maternal Age Effects on Oocyte Endoplasmic Reticulum Clusters
Authors: William H. Kinsey and Lane K. Christenson
Affiliation: University of Kansas School of Medicine Kansas City, KS 66260

Title: Fertilization envelope elevation is blocked by hormonal stimulation of 1-methyladenine until germinal vesicle breakdown due to Rac1 activation.
Authors: Sakurako Aida 1, Yuna Yamazaki 1, Nunzia Limatola 2, Luigia Santella 2, Kazuyoshi Chiba 1
Affiliation: 1. Department of Biological Sciences,Ochanomizu University,2-1-1 Ohtsuka, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112-8610, Japan; 2. Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn,Villa Comunale 80121, Napoli, Italy.

Title: Identification of SH2 domain-containing transcripts in the Patiria miniata mature egg transcriptome
Authors: Lauren Bates 1, Emily Wiseman 2, Alexis Whetzel 3 and David J. Carroll 3
Affiliation: 1 – West Virginia Laboratories, South Charleston, WV, USA; 2 – BioScryb Genomics, Durham, NC, USA; 3 – Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Midwestern University, Glendale, AZ, USA.

Title: Extracellular Ubiquitin-Proteasome System: Its Importance in Deuterostome Fertilization
Authors: Hitoshi Sawada and Takako Saito
Affiliation: 1. Department of Applied Life Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Shizuoka University, Shizuoka 422-8529, Japan 2. Shizuoka Institute for the Study of Marine Biology and Chemistry, Shizuoka University, Shizuoka 422-8529, Japan