New Research Scientists discover fertility genes Archived article from Jan 23, 2006 By Joseph Blumberg   Two genes in a lowly roundworm may provide important new clues to human fertility. A team led by Andrew Singson, an assistant professor, and Pavan Kadandale, a graduate student in the Singson lab at the Waksman Institute of Microbiology, have discovered two genes, named egg-1 and egg-2, which must be present for fertilization to take place. Fertilization has primarily been studied in mammals or select marine invertebrates, but Singson and his group turned to the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), the first multicellular organism to have had its genome completely sequenced. These roundworms exist as males or hermaphrodites, the latter producing sperm when young and switching to produce eggs as adults. The researchers thus were able to alter eggs in the hermaphrodites and use sperm from young males to test fertilization. The researchers found that in the absence of the two egg genes, the vital process of fertilization came to a halt. The proteins encoded by these genes are similar to low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptors that play a role in human cholesterol and fat metabolism but have never before been specifically implicated in fertilization. Singson suggests that the team’s findings may eventually lead to innovations that would help the one in six couples worldwide dealing with infertility problems. Return to the Jan 23, 2006 issue

For questions or comments about this site, contact Greg Trevor Last Updated: May 30, 2006 © 2012 Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. All rights reserved.