Zinc sparks actually fly when sperm and egg meet. A team of researchers have captured the images of the sparks during the fertilization moment.
The new study has been conducted by the researchers at the Northwestern University using latest technology. The research group claims that they are the first to capture images of such molecular fireworks as well as point at the source of the zinc sparks.
The study explains that fluctuations of zinc play a key role in the regulation of the biochemical processes, which ensures the transition of a healthy egg to embryo. The latest information observed in the study can be very helpful in the improvement of in vitro fertilization (IVF) methods.
Teresa K. Woodruff, director of the Women's Health Research Institute at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, who is also one of the corresponding authors of the study, reveals that the amount of zinc released by an egg can be a significant identifier to detect a high-quality fertilized egg, which is not possible now. Woodruff added that the detection of best eggs means that fewer embryos will be required to be shifted during a fertility treatment.
Woodruff suggests that the team of researchers have developed a fluorescent sensor, which can trace zinc activities in live cells. A single mammal cell can contain around 8,000 compartments that can hold zinc. Each compartment has a packet that contains about a million atoms of zinc.
Thomas V. O'Halloran, another corresponding author of the study, reveals that during fertilization of an egg, they found that the egg released thousands of packages that contained millions of zinc atoms. A single egg has about four to five of the periodic sparks.
"It is beautiful to see, orchestrated much like a symphony. We knew zinc was released by the egg in huge amounts, but we had no idea how the egg did this," says O'Halloran.
The study also determines how eggs distribute and compartmentalize zinc in order to govern the egg's developmental processes into a healthy embryo.
The researchers are now working to understand if zinc sparks and egg quality can be correlated, which will help in the improvement of fertility treatments.
The study has been published in the journal Nature Chemistry.
Check out the video showing the zinc sparks when the sperm and egg meet.
