Question

There has been a lot of interest in developing compounds that could function as male contraceptives. A particular research team is interested in developing a drug that could disrupt the binding of mature sperm to the egg cell membrane to prevent conception. Which organism might you use for observing whether a drug blocks sperm-egg interactions? Why? **Make sure to answer both parts of the question!

Answer 1

We can use sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) to study the effect of the drug on fertilization process.

Reasons:

i. These organisms have been in use as model systems since the 1800s. So, there is a vast amount of data available on growth and developmental aspects.

ii. Straightforward artificial spawning

iii. Optical transparency of the embryo

iv. Simple organization of the gametes

v. Completely sequenced genome and availability of mutants

vi. Females release a vast number of eggs into the marine environment (up to 8-20 million eggs)