This book provides a coherent, clear, and uniform presentation of structural, genetic, molecular, and biochemical information available for the zona pellucida domain protein family, which impact pathologies such as infertility, deafness, and cancer. Furthermore it:

• Details information about the structure and function of the ZP domain in ZPDC-proteins
• Provides illustrations of the organization of ZPDC-proteins, the genes that encode the proteins, and examples of mutations in the ZP domain that cause diseases
• Speculates as to the evolution of the ZP domain and potential therapeutics for diseases stemming from ZP domain mutations
• Addresses mammalian and non-mammalian systems