Jury J A, Frayne J, Hall L
Department of Biochemistry, University of Bristol, School of Medical Sciences, United Kingdom.
Mol Reprod Dev. 1998 Sep;51(1):92-7. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1098-2795(199809)51:1<92::AID-MRD11>3.0.CO;2-W.
The sperm surface fertilin complex was first described in the guinea pig where it was found as a heterodimer of alpha and beta subunits, both of which were proposed to play a role in sperm-oolemma recognition and plasma membrane fusion during fertilisation. Whilst the beta subunit is apparently testis-specific, the finding of low levels of fertilin alpha in nonreproductive tissues has cast some doubt on a unique role in fertilisation. Moreover, the absence of a functional fertilin alpha gene in the human would imply that this gene product is not absolutely essential for fertilisation, although it could play a facilitatory role. We now describe the organisation and sequence of the fertilin alpha genes in a range of primates, including the great apes, and find that the gorilla gene, like that of the human, is non-functional.
精子表面受精素复合体最初是在豚鼠中发现的，它是由α和β亚基组成的异二聚体，这两个亚基都被认为在受精过程中精子与卵细胞膜的识别及质膜融合中发挥作用。虽然β亚基显然是睾丸特异性的，但在非生殖组织中发现低水平的受精素α，这让人对其在受精中的独特作用产生了一些怀疑。此外，人类中缺乏功能性的受精素α基因意味着该基因产物对受精并非绝对必要，尽管它可能起到促进作用。我们现在描述了一系列灵长类动物（包括大猩猩）中受精素α基因的结构和序列，发现大猩猩的基因和人类的一样，是无功能的。
