Abstract
There is no doubt that only a tiny proportion of mammalian spermatozoa are utilized for their primary biological function, fertilization. Whether their attrition is selective or random is controversial. It is agreed, however, that any selection must imply discrimination: if all fail, or if any one can succeed, selection cannot be occurring. Only if some fail and some pass a barrier, like cervix or phagocytes or zona, can selection have occurred. Even then it may not have; random access to a small “window” may have favoured the successful.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Cohen J. 1975. Gametic diversity within an ejaculate. Functional morphology of the spermatozoon (Ed B. Afzelius. Wenner-Gren, Stockholm 329–339
Mortimer D. 1978. The distribution of diploid rabbit sperm in the female tract after AI. Animal Repro. Sci. 1: 245–250.
Odeblad E. 1969. Types of Human Cervical Secretion. Acta Europaea Fertilitas. 1: 99–116.
Marcus SL. 1955. The passage of rat and foreign spermatozoa through the utero tubal junction of the rat. Am. J. Obs. Gyn. 91: 985–989.
Taylor NJ. This Symposium.
Cohen J, Werrett DJ. 1975. Antibodies and sperm survival in the female tract of the mouse and rabbit. J. Reprod. Fert. 42: 301–310.
Cohen J, Tyler KR. 1980. Sperm populations in the female genital tract of the rabbit. J. Reprod. Fert. 60: 213–8.
Pearson PL, Pawlowitzki IH, Geraedts JPM, Van der Ploeg M. 1974. Chromosome studies in human male gametes. In “The Biology of the male Gamete”. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 6.
Krzanowska H. 1974. The passage of abnormal spermatozoa through the uterotubal junction of the mouse. J. Reprod. Fert. 38: 81–90.
Katz DF, Overstreet JW, Hanson FW. 1981. Variations within and amongst normal men of movement characteristics of seminal spermatozoa. J. Reprod Fert. 62: 221–228.
Taylor NJ. 1982. Equivalence of ‘non-IgG binding’ and ‘acrosomeless’ sperm population from the female genital tract of the rabbit. J. Reprod. Fert. 64: 181–184.
Tucker MJ. 1980. Explanation of sterility in tx ty male mice. Nature 288: 367–8.
Johnson WL, Hunter AG. 1972. Seminal antigens: Their alteration in the genital tract of female rabbits and during partial in vitro capacitation with Beta-Amylase and Beta-glucoronidase. Biol. Reprod. 7: 332–340.
Cohen J. 1969. Why so many sperms? An essay on the arithmetic of reproduction; Sci. Prog, Oxford 57: 23–41.
Cohen J. 1973. Crossovers, sperm redundancy and their close association. Heredity, 31: 408–413.
Wallace H. 1974. Chiasmata have no effect on fertility. Heredity, 33: 423–429.
Gwatkin RBL. 1977. Fertilization mechanisms in man and mammals, p. 41. Plenum Press. New York and London.
Bavister GD. 1979. Fertilization of hamster eggs in-vitro at sperm-egg ratios close to unity. J. Exp. Zool. 210 (2): 259–264.
Cohen J, McNaughton DC. 1974. Spermatozoa: The probable selection of a small population by the genital tract of the female rabbit. J. Reprod. Fert. 39: 297–310
Overstreet JW, Katz DF. 1977. Sperm transport and selection in the female genital tract. In: Development in Mammals. 3: 31–66.
Fischer B, Adams CE. 1981. Fertilization following mixed insemination with ‘cervix selected’ and ‘unselected’ spermatozoa in the rabbit. J. Reprod. Fert. 62: 337–343.
Johnson MH. 1973. ‘Physiological mechanisms for the immunological isolation of spermatozoa. Adv. Reprod. Physiol. 6: 274–325.
Bennett D. 1975. The T-locus of the mouse. Cell 6: 441–454.
Klein J, Juretic A, Baxevanis CN, Nagy ZA. 1981. The traditional and a new version of the mouse H-2 complex. Nature 291: 455–460.
Taylor NJ. 1981. Investigation of sperm-induced cervical leucocytosis in rabbits by a double mating study in rabbits. J. Reprod. Fert. (in press).
Tyler K. 1977. ‘Histological changes in the cervix of the rabbit after coitus’. J. Reprod. Fert. 49: 341–45.
Siddiquey AKS, Cohen J. 1982. In vitro fertilization in the mouse and the relevance of different sperm/egg concentrations and volumes. J. Reprod. Fert. (in press).
Cheng P, Casida LE. 1948. Fertility in the rabbit as affected by the dilution of semen and the number of spermatozoa. Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 69: 36–39.
Fawcett, DW. 1972. Observations on cell differentiations and organelle continuity in spermatogenesis. In: The Genetics of the Spermatozoon, (eds Beatty KA and Gluecksohn-Waelsch S.) Copenhagen. 37–68.
Erickson RP, Lewis SE, Butley M. 1981. Is haploid gene expression possible for sperm antigens ? J. Reprod.Immuno1. 3: 195–217.
Hancock RJT. 1978. Sperm antigens and sperm immunogenicity. In Spermatozoa, Antibodies and Infertility (ed Cohen J. and Hendry WF). Blackwell. 1–9.
Tucker. This Symposium.
Cohen J. 1982. Chance ou choix: quel spermatozoide arrivera a destination? Contraception-fertilite-sexualite 10: 397–402.
Clarke A, Jecquier A. 1981. Unpublished research seminars.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1983 Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, The Hague
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Cohen, J. (1983). Selection Among Spermatozoa. In: André, J. (eds) The Sperm Cell. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-7675-7_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-7675-7_6
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-009-7677-1
Online ISBN: 978-94-009-7675-7
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive