Zinc: A small molecule with a big impact on sperm function

Zinc is an essential mineral, but our understanding of its uses in the body is limited. Capitalizing on approaches available in the model system Caenorhabditis elegans, Zhao and colleagues show that zinc transduces a signal that induces sperm to become motile. This is an enigmatic process because sperm in all sexually-reproducing animals are transcriptionally inactive. Zinc levels inside sperm are regulated by an evolutionarily conserved zinc transporter called Zrt- and Irt-like Protein Transporter 7.1 (ZIPT-7.1). This zinc transporter localizes to intracellular organelles, suggesting that it primarily controls zinc levels by releasing zinc into the cytoplasm from internal stores rather than importing it from the external environment. The zinc released within cells acts as a messenger in a signaling pathway to promote mobility acquisition. These studies reveal an important role for zinc as an intracellular second messenger that generates physiological changes vital for sperm motility and fertility.