The structure of sperm Izumo1 reveals unexpected similarities with Plasmodium invasion proteins.
Nishimura, K., Han, L., Bianchi, E., Wright, G.J., de Sanctis, D., Jovine, L.(2016) Curr Biol 26: R661-R662
- PubMed: 27374339 
- DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.06.028
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
5B5K - PubMed Abstract: 
Fertilization, the culminating event in sexual reproduction, occurs when haploid sperm and egg recognize each other and fuse to form a diploid zygote. In mammals this process critically depends on the interaction between Izumo1, a protein exposed on the equatorial segment of acrosome-reacted sperm, and the egg plasma-membrane-anchored receptor Juno [1,2] ...