A single domain of the ZP2 zona pellucida protein mediates gamete recognition in mice and humans

The extracellular zona pellucida surrounds ovulated eggs and mediates gamete recognition that is essential for mammalian fertilization. Zonae matrices contain three (mouse) or four (human) glycoproteins (ZP1–4), but which protein binds sperm remains controversial. A defining characteristic of an essential zona ligand is sterility after genetic ablation. We have established transgenic mice expressing human ZP4 that form zonae pellucidae in the absence of mouse or human ZP2. Neither mouse nor human sperm bound to these ovulated eggs, and these female mice were sterile after in vivo insemination or natural mating. The same phenotype was observed with truncated ZP2 that lacks a restricted domain within ZP251–149. Chimeric human/mouse ZP2 isoforms expressed in transgenic mice and recombinant peptide bead assays confirmed that this region accounts for the taxon specificity observed in human–mouse gamete recognition. These observations in transgenic mice document that the ZP251–149 sperm-binding domain is necessary for human and mouse gamete recognition and penetration through the zona pellucida.