Mechanisms of Fertilization: Plants to Humans

This text covers current knowledge on the mechanism of gamete interaction in plants, animals and humans, and is aimed at an advanced audience interested in basic physiological principles in cell biology.

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This text covers current knowledge on the mechanism of gamete interaction in plants, animals and humans, and is aimed at an advanced audience interested in basic physiological principles in cell biology. Fertilization is sub-divided into four broad subjects: late gametogenesis, sperm-egg interaction, egg activation and early changes in the zygote. Each author gives a brief review of his field of knowledge with new data, and addresses outstanding problems and topics for future research. Of major interest are sections dealing with cytoplasmic factors that trigger egg activation, second messenger systems in eggs and factors that temporally and spatially regulate early embryogenesis. The emphasis is on basic physiological mechanisms and the drive to identify unifying concepts in plants, invertebrates and vertebrates.