Fertilization of Caenorhabditis elegans Contractions of the oviduct

force an oocyte into the

spermatheca
leading end of the oocyte
appears to engulf a single
sperm

requires the interaction of
gametes that must have
specialized macromolecules
on their surface that promote
cell adhesion and
penetration
In the hermaphrodite, sperm
accumulate in the
spermatheca
contact an oocyte in
the oviduct as the
oocyte matures adjacent
to the spermatheca
When the oocyte is mature
contractions of the
oviduct wall push into the
spermatheca
contacts many sperm
squeezed into the uterus
through a constriction at
the end of the
spermatheca
Supernumerary sperm carried
into the uterus on the oocyte
abruptly migrate back
through the constriction to
the spermatheca so that
every sperm can fertilize an
oocyte
The process of fertilization in C.
elegans occurs within the
spermatheca of the adult
hermaphrodite
 The sperm is thought to specify
the initial asymmetries in the
embryo by directing
cytoplasmic rearrangements
that cause determinants to
become asymmetrically
localized
The newly fertilized egg

Sexual reproduction
When the male sperm arrive at
the spermatheca they
preferentially fertilize the
subsequent oocytes even
though hermaphrodite sperm
are still present
The sperm are ameboid cells
specialized pseudopodial
region that is extended
from the cell while the
sperm is migrating
exits its prophase arrest state
The sperm contain and completes meioses I and
specialized II
membraneous vesicles
extruding two polar bodies at
that can fuse with the
the future anterior end of the
plasma membrane
embryo
The sperm normally enters the
Concurrently, a hard and
end of the oocyte that first
impermeable eggshell forms
penetrates the spermatheca,
around the embryo.
and this end becomes posterior
development of the early
The oocyte nucleus normally
embryo appear to be maternally
resides at the opposite end, and
supplied
its polar body products usually
mark the future anterior of the the newly formed embryo
embryo passes from the spermatheca
to the uterus via a
connecting valve called
the spermatheca-
uterus (sp-ut) valve
 The adult valve consists of a Passage of the first fertilized
toroidal syncytium generated oocyte apparently pushes the
by the fusion of four cells core cell bodies away to open
(sujns) the passage
Like the spermatheca, the fate of the displaced core
morphology of the sp-ut valve is cells is not known.
altered by passage of the
First, sperm entry appears to
first fertilized oocyte
activate the oocyte to begin
Prior to the first ovulation, the embryogenesis
center of the toroid is occupied
sperm entry specifies the
by two junctional core cells, also
future posterior end of
syncytial
the embryo
The core cells extend
pseudopodia into the apical
folds of the sujn cells and core
cell nuclei protrude into the
uterus lumen