In this work, we combine #crystallography, #cryoEM, #AlphaFold predictions, biochemical and mouse studies to unveil the 3D structure of vertebrate egg coat filaments and describe how cleavage of their #ZP2 subunit hardens the coat, establishing a permanent block to #polyspermy.

A very big thank you to all co-authors, collaborators, and funding bodies for making this possible!

After a chase that lasted more than 10 years, finally here it is:

Architecture of the Vertebrate Egg Coat and Structural Basis of the ZP2 Block to Polyspermy
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4470110

#fertilization #oocyte #sperm #zonapellucida #zp_domain #zp_module #zp1 #zp2 #zp3 #infertility