Sperm-egg matchmaker "Bouncer" may drive fish evolution

In order to fertilise an egg, sperm needs to be compatible with it. A few years ago, scientists from the lab of Andrea Pauli at the IMP discovered that the membrane protein Bouncer prevents cross-fertilisation between different species of fish. Building on this, they now show that Bouncer has molecular characteristics that diverge across different fish species – hinting at a role it could play in driving evolution.