Gametogenesis

Fantaleon G. Tamayo

Gametogenesis

Gametogenesis is the
creation of gametes.
In males, it is
spermatogenesis, creation
of sperm.
In females, it is oogenesis,
creation of ova.

Parts of a SPERM

What else?

Chemical Content of the Semen

seminal fluid
(don't panic its organic)
In humans, seminal fluid contains several components
besides spermatozoa: proteolytic and other enzymes as
well as fructose are elements of seminal fluid which
promote the survival of spermatozoa, and provide a
medium through which they can move or "swim".
Sperm+fluid form seminal vesicle+fluid from
prostate+fluid from bulbourethral glands= SEMEN

Gland(s)

Approxi
mate
fraction

Description

testes

25%

Approximately 200- to 500-million spermatozoa (also called sperm or

spermatozoans), produced in the testes, are released per ejaculation.
If a man has undergone a vasectomy, he will have no sperm in the
ejaculation.

seminal vesicles

6575%

amino acids, citrate, enzymes, flavins, fructose (25 mg per mL

semen,[3] the main energy source of sperm cells, which rely entirely
on sugars from the seminal plasma for energy), phosphorylcholine,
prostaglandins (involved in suppressing an immune response by the
female against the foreign semen), proteins, vitamin C

prostate

530%

acid phosphatase, citric acid, fibrinolysin, prostate specific antigen,

proteolytic enzymes, zinc. Zinc serves to help to stabilize the DNAcontaining chromatin in the sperm cells. A zinc deficiency may result
in lowered fertility because of increased sperm fragility. Zinc
deficiency can also adversely affect spermatogenesis.

bulbourethral
glands

< 1%

galactose, mucus (serve to increase the mobility of sperm cells in the

vagina and cervix by creating a less viscous channel for the sperm
cells to swim through, and preventing their diffusion out of the semen.
Contributes to the cohesive jelly-like texture of semen.), pre-ejaculate,
sialic acid

Chemical Content of the Semen

SPERM Cell Membrane

Fantaleon G. Tamayo

Sperm Cell Membrane

Sperm Membrane is specialized for
Fertilization
The sperm must fuse with the egg, this
involves at least three sequential events:
Sperm-egg recognition
Sperm-egg binding
Sperm-egg fusion
Thus, the sperm and the egg must have
complementary recognition molecules
(receptor & ligand) for these
events. Since the acrosome will exocytose
from the front of the sperm this region of the
sperm cell
membrane must also have special attributes
for fusion of the acrosome with cell
membrane.

Basic Nucleoprotein Changes during Spermatogenesis

Nuclear morphogenesis is driven, at least
in part, by changes in the way the sperm
chromatin is packaged in the nucleus.
The following ultrastructural pictures
reveal this change. In the early stages of
spermatogenesis,somatic cells package
their DNA with somatic histones (basic
proteins) that results in the formation of
nucleosomes (N) which are seen
throughout the nucleus. This gives
chromatin the appearance of "beads on a
string" (like a pearl necklace). During
spermiogenesis, the somatic histones (N)
are replaced with protamines(n) which
don't form nucleosomes and so allow a
tighter packing of the DNA