BIOL 1011 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Gastrulation, Acrosome Reaction, Programmed Cell Death
Document Summary
Sperm: tail for motility, head (has nucleus and acrosome (membrane bound vesicle at head of the sperm that has hydrolytic enzymes (break down other molecules) which will function to break through the jelly layer of the egg)) Vitelline layer on the egg: embedded in the plasma membrane and extending through the vitelline layer are sperm binding proteins (sperm that want to fertilize egg must bind here) Jelly coat: outside the vitelline layer and the function is to protect the egg and also releases chemicals to attract the sperm of the same species so the sperm are attracted to higher concentrations of these chemicals. Cortical granules: layer of vesicles underneath the surface of the egg plasma membrane. Answer: cells express different genes depending on their location and stage of development. By expressing different genes leads to the production of different proteins which in turn determine the structure and behavior of the cell at any given point of time.
