So Let me get this right, the sperm cell does not carry mitochondria?

Question

Someone asked a question about mitocondria behavior during mitosis. The fact that mitochondria are transmitted via the female, I guess the sperm has no mitochondria, but then how does it get energy?

Answer 1

Sperm do have mitochondria they use them to power their tails.

Sperm mitochondria are marked with a protein called ubiquitin which is a signal to the egg cell that after fertilisation these mitochondria are to be destroyed.

Having sperm mitochondria present in egg cells is detrimental to the developing offspring (some defective embryos in infertility clinics have been found to contain sperm mitochondria,) but to the best of my knowledge science is still unsure why this is.

Simply put your mothers egg cell killed your father's sperm's mitochondria a few cell cycles after it was fertilised.

The fact that all mitochondria in humans can be traced down the maternal line is a vital concept in some forensic DNA testing as well as being important in some population genetics studies.

Answer 2

The sperm is a cell just like every other cell in your body... it contains all the basic cell parts, especially mitochondria. In the mitochondria is where glycolysis and cellular respiration occurs to produce ATP (the type of energy that cells use) and all cells need energy to stay active and maintain it's own homeostasis.

Answer 3

The sperm does in fact have mitochondria. Otherwise there would be no ATP and energy for the long scary journey....During fertilization a single sperm enters the egg along with the mitochondria that it uses to provide the energy needed for its swimming behavior. ...



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitochondrion

Answer 4

In mammals, 99.99% of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is inherited from the mother. This is because the sperm carries its mitochondria around a portion of its tail and has only about 100 mitochondria compared to 100,000 in the oocyte. Sperm does not need mitochondria to travel.

Answer 5

oh, the sperm s DO need mitochondria for motion, e.g. in human sperm there is one huge mitochondrion wrapped around the base of the flagellum. big demand for energy. i guess this abnormal mitochondrion has nothing to do with the embryyo, it is for work during the sperm motion.

in many organisms we see that the female germplasm (=cytoplasm of germ cell) is bigger, therefore contains more mitochondria so we see what you said. e.g. plants: big egg, but small male germ cell. the metabolosm of pollen tube is mainained by another cell - the vegetative cell, not the germ cell, the germ cell is tiny little inactive cell with yet inactive nucleus and almost no cytoplasm - almost no mitochondria

Answer 6

Hey, who gave you this information. Sperm cells do contain mitochondria. and it gets energy for movement from mitochondria.