Fukumoto Makoto
Biological Institute, College of General Education, Nagoya City University, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya 467, Japan.
Dev Growth Differ. 1990 Feb;32(1):51-55. doi: 10.1111/j.1440-169X.1990.00051.x.
An acrosome reaction occurs by fusion between the acrosomal outer membrane and the plasmalemma enclosing the acrosome in Ciona intestinalis spermatozoa. The fusion seems to proceed along the peripheral margin of the acrosome, which causes vesiculation. The membrane bound vesicle formed by this process is probably shed by the sperm. The acrosomal inner membrane is exposed and becomes a part of the plasmalemma enclosing the anterior region of the sperm head. During this process, any acrosomal substance might be released through the opening formed by membrane fusion. The acrosome reaction most likely occurs in C. intestinalis spermatozoa, via vesiculation, in fundamentally the same way as observed in mammalian spermatozoa.
