sperm

sperm, male reproductive cell, produced by most animals. With the exception of nematode worms, decapods (e.g., crayfish), diplopods (e.g., millipedes), and mites, sperm are flagellated; that is, they have a whiplike tail. In higher vertebrates, especially mammals, sperm are produced in the testes. The sperm unites with (fertilizes) an ovum (egg) of the female to produce a new offspring. Mature sperm have two distinguishable parts, a head and a tail.

The head of the sperm varies in shape for each animal species. In humans it is flattened and almond-shaped, four to five micrometres long and two to three micrometres wide (there are about 25,000 micrometres in an inch). The head portion is mainly a cell nucleus; it consists of genetic substances, called chromosomes, which are responsible for transmitting specific characteristics of an individual, such as the colour of eyes, hair, and skin. In each body cell of healthy humans, there are 46 chromosomes, which are responsible for the individual’s general physical makeup. The sperm cells have only 23 chromosomes, or half of the usual number. When a sperm cell unites with the ovum, which also has 23 chromosomes, the resulting 46 chromosomes determine the offspring’s characteristics. The sperm cells also carry the X or Y chromosome that determines the sex of the future child.

Covering the head of the sperm is a cap known as the acrosome, which contains enzymes that help sperm to enter an egg. Only one sperm fertilizes each egg, even though 300,000,000 to 400,000,000 sperm are contained in an average ejaculation. Each egg and sperm produced has slightly different genetic information carried in the chromosomes; this accounts for the differences and similarities between children of the same parents.

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A small middle portion of the sperm contains the mitochondria. The tail of the sperm, sometimes called the flagellum, is a slender, hairlike bundle of filaments that connects to the head and middle portion. The tail is about 50 micrometres long; its thickness of one micrometre near the mitochondria gradually diminishes to less than one-half micrometre at the end of the tail. The tail gives the sperm cell movement. It whips and undulates so that the cell can travel to the egg. Following sperm deposition in the female reproductive tract, activation of tail movement is suppressed until the sperm is carried to within a relatively short distance of the egg. This gives the sperm an increased chance of reaching the egg before exhausting its energy supplies.

The activation of tail movements is part of the process of capacitation, in which the sperm undergoes a series of cellular changes that enables its participation in fertilization. A fundamental change that occurs during capacitation is alkalinization of sperm cytoplasm, in which the intracellular pH levels increase, particularly in the flagellum. This process, which is driven by the rapid movement of protons out of the cell through ion channels on the flagellum, underlies tail activation. Proton channels on sperm flagella are primed for opening by the presence in the female reproductive tract of a substance known as anandamide, which is thought to occur in high concentrations near the egg. Upon reaching an egg, enzymes contained within the sperm acrosome are activated, enabling the sperm to traverse the thick coat surrounding the egg (the zona pellucida); this process is known as the acrosome reaction. The membrane of the sperm cell then fuses with that of the egg, and the sperm nucleus is conveyed into the egg.

Sperm deposited in the reproductive tract of the female that do not reach the egg die. Sperm cells may live in the human body for two or three days after mating. Sperm may also be stored in a frozen state for months or years and still retain their capacity to fertilize eggs when thawed.

The widespread nature of sexual reproduction in animals has raised intriguing questions concerning the evolutionary origins of sperm. Almost all living animals, from worms to insects to humans, possess a gene known as Boule (BOULE), which functions solely in sperm production. The presence of this gene in sea anemones—very primitive life-forms—suggests that the ability to produce sperm evolved only once, roughly 600 million years ago. Although the gene’s function is highly conserved among animals, it has diverged to give rise to a distinct form for each species.

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According to studies performed in mice, the final stages of sperm maturation appear to be regulated by a gene known as Katnal1, which is expressed by the Sertoli cells that support and nourish immature sperm within the walls of the seminiferous tubules (the site of spermatogenesis). Dysfunction of Katnal1 is suspected to underlie some instances of male infertility, and thus, the gene represents a potential target for the development of male infertility drugs as well as new forms of male contraception.