A new study at The University of Toledo shows that a father donates not one, but two centrioles through the sperm during fertilization, and the newly discovered sperm structure may contribute to infertility, miscarriages and birth defects.

The newly discovered centriole functions similarly and along with the known centriole. However, it is structured differently. According to Dr. Tomer Avidor-Reiss, professor in the UT Department of Biological Sciences, abnormalities in the formation and function of the atypical centriole may be the root of infertility of unknown cause in couples who have no treatment options available to them.

It also may contributes to early pregnancy loss and embryo development defects. The centriole is the only essential cellular structure contributed solely by the father. It is the origin of all of the centrioles in the trillions of cells that make up the adult human body. Centrioles are essential for building the cell’s antennae- cilia, and cytoskeleton, as well as completing accurate cell division.

A zygote, or fertilized egg cell, needs two centrioles to start life. It was previously thought that sperm provides a single centriole to the egg and then duplicates itself. Since the mother’s egg does not provide centrioles, and the father’s sperm possesses only one recognizable centriole, cutting-edge techniques and microscopes showed that it came from men.

The atypical centriole contains a small core set of proteins needed for the known sperm centriole to form a fully functional centriole after fertilization in the zygote using the egg’s proteins. This discovery may provide new avenues for diagnostics and therapeutic strategies for male infertility and insights into early embryo developmental defects.

The cutting-edge techniques and microscopes used on this research include super-resolution microscopy; electron microscopy with high-pressure freezing; and correlative light and electron microscopy.
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