Mannosylated glycoconjugates on the surface of activated sperm in the giant freshwater prawn are crucial for sperm binding with the egg vitelline envelop.

The unusual morphology and poorly defined acrosome-like structure in the mature sperm of the giant freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii has led to difficulties in identifying the state of sperm activation. Mature distal vas deferens sperm (dVSp) can be activated by the calcium ionophore A23187 to show acrosome reaction-like enzymatic activities that increase their binding and penetration capabilities. However, these short-lived enzymatic activities limit their usefulness as a marker of sperm activation for further qualitative and quantitative analyses, leading to our examining the alterations in the exposure of sperm surface glycoconjugates both as markers of sperm activation and for their role in gamete interaction.

N-linked mannose glycoconjugates on shrimp thrombospondin, pmTSP-II, and their involvement in the sperm acrosome reaction.

Glycoconjugates in egg extracellular matrices are known to serve several functions in reproductive processes. Here, the presence of N-linked mannose (Man) glycoconjugates on shrimp thrombospondin ( pmTSP-II) and their physiological functions were investigated in the black tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon. A molecular analysis of pmTSP-II demonstrated anchorage sites for N-linked glycans in both the chitin-binding and TSP3 domains.