Homunculus

## About

A homunculus is a hybrid between a human and a chicken, created by injected an unfertilized chicken egg with human sperm. While this may seem like an impossibility, it turns out there are a variety of reasons why this works. The hybrids formed from this are not necessarily true hybrids, as fertilization isn't occurring in the traditional sense. They are also subject to pre-zygotic isolation, meaning that mechanisms are in place to prevent fertilization between people and chickens. Duh.

But, that being said, some level of fertilization does occur, and there are special reasons for this being possible.

## Acrosome Reaction

The acrosome reaction is the reaction that is in charge of releasing the contents of the acrosome, which disperse, and the exposure of enzymes attached to the inner acrosomal membrane of the sperm. This causes the sperm's cell membrane to fuse with the egg cell's membrane, and the contents of the head diffuse into the egg. This reaction typically results in fertilization, however the acrosome reaction can be triggered accidentally in the presence of the appropriate proteins and ions.

## CatSper Proteins

Another important protein in triggering fertilization is the CatSper protein, and in humans the Ca+2 channels are fundamental in triggering the acrosome reaction. Studies into infertility treatment have shown that the egg yolk of chicken eggs contains CatSper proteins that are functionally identical to those found in humans, which results in increases in human sperm motility.

## The Schizophrenic Egg Connection

As mentioned above, egg yolk has not only the same CatSper protein needed by human sperm to trigger the acrosome reaction, but many other compounds including Zinc, Calcium, and Magnesium ions that are related to increases in sperm growth, motility. Egg yolk is also high in Iron, Phosphorous, Potassium, and Sodium, which all play a huge role in sperm development and health. Because of this egg yolk is commonly used in treatment for infertility, and studies have shown that being in an egg yolk cause huge improvements in sperm movement, as well as triggering the beginning stages of the acrosome reaction.

Studies down in 1992 showed that sperm binding occurred within egg yolk, which is the first step of fertilization and the acrosome reaction. This study was followed up in 2008 in an attempt to learn more about the fertility properties of egg yolk, however they found something interesting; the percentage of spermatozoa with in tact cell membranes decreased over time inside egg yolk. This suggests that egg yolk causes the acrosome reaction to occur to human sperm, resulting in the breakdown of the cell membrane and the convergence of genetic material. This also matches the results of a 1990 experiment, which found that egg yolk increases the capacitation/acrosome reaction of human spermatozoa.

## The Result

When human nut enters into a chicken egg, the acrosome reaction occurs. You essentially have a huge clump of male gametes, all of this genetic information clumping together as the sperm undergoes its acrosome reaction. In egg yolk sperm loses its membrane and begins to release its gamete as if it has undergone the fertilization process.

With a large sample of sperm cells in such an environment, all leaking their cellular information and diffusing it into the yolk, there are now tons of released and diffusible/effusable male gametes floating around the yolk. These gametes will partially combine with the female gamete of the chicken egg, however they are not genetically compatible and will not fertilize/develop completely. What you are left with is a very limitedly developed mass of mostly male gametes, with the possibility of small amounts of the female (chicken) gamete. The homunculus is a biological mass of male gametes, or a limited combination of multiple parts of various male gametes and limited parts of the female gamete.

## The Experiment

To test this theory, the Spooky Skeleton Crew was forced to nut up or shut up and attempt to create a homunculus to see if it was actually possible. They tested 4 eggs; a control egg, an egg punctured with a needle, an egg punctured and filled with soap and lotion, and an egg punctured and filled with sperm. After allowing the eggs to incubate they found the control egg was identical to both the egg punctured with a needle and the one filled with soap/lotion, however Erich's egg was much different.

The egg had a clump of white/black inside, a horrible stench, and a small blastoderm that Dr. Mario almost didn't notice. The blastoderm seemed to suggest that, to an extent, fertilization *did* occur, but obviously the zygote was not viable. Typically a blastodisc (female gamete) develops into a blastoderm once a male's gametes successfully fertilize the egg. The difference between the two is a bullseye like pattern in the blastoderm, whereas the blastodisc is a solid white spot. The blastoderm in this egg was lopsided and didn't seem like the normal bullseye shape, which indicates that it was not truly fertilized.

The resulting clump of gametes is technically a homunculus, and thus the experiment was technically a success. Despite this, Dr. Mario dubbed the experiment a failure because of just how awful and unethical the entire scenario was. The homunculus was stolen by the Yoshi before being cast into the swamp. His current fate remains unknown.