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Ca 2+ spikes in the flagellum control chemotactic behavior of sperm
Author(s) -
Böhmer Martin,
Van Qui,
Weyand Ingo,
Hagen Volker,
Beyermann Michael,
Matsumoto Midori,
Hoshi Motonori,
Hildebrand Eilo,
Kaupp Ulrich Benjamin
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
the embo journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 7.484
H-Index - 392
eISSN - 1460-2075
pISSN - 0261-4189
DOI - 10.1038/sj.emboj.7600744
Subject(s) - library science , humanities , art history , art , computer science
The events that occur during chemotaxis of sperm are only partly known. As an essential step toward determining the underlying mechanism, we have recorded Ca 2+ dynamics in swimming sperm of marine invertebrates. Stimulation of the sea urchin Arbacia punctulata by the chemoattractant or by intracellular cGMP evokes Ca 2+ spikes in the flagellum. A Ca 2+ spike elicits a turn in the trajectory followed by a period of straight swimming (‘turn‐and‐run’). The train of Ca 2+ spikes gives rise to repetitive loop‐like movements. When sperm swim in a concentration gradient of the attractant, the Ca 2+ spikes and the stimulus function are synchronized, suggesting that precise timing of Ca 2+ spikes controls navigation. We identified the peptide asterosap as a chemotactic factor of the starfish Asterias amurensis . The Ca 2+ spikes and swimming behavior of sperm from starfish and sea urchin are similar, implying that the signaling pathway of chemotaxis has been conserved for almost 500 million years.