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Protein translation in sperm

A new paper in the February 15th issue of Genes & Development lends novel insight into the cellular changes that occur in sperm while they reside in the female reproductive tract – providing a new understanding of the molecular genetics of successful fertilization.

It had been believed for decades that spermatozoa are translationally silent. However, Dr. Yael Gur and Haim Breitbart (Bar-Ilan University, Israel) now show that, in fact, protein translation does take place in mammalian sperm prior to fertilization.

Their paper has been released online ahead of print at www.genesdev.org.

Heather Cosel | EurekAlert!
Further information:
http://www.cshl.edu
http://www.genesdev.org

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