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Echinobase
ECB-ART-39481
EMBO J 2005 Aug 03;2415:2741-52. doi: 10.1038/sj.emboj.7600744.
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Ca2+ spikes in the flagellum control chemotactic behavior of sperm.

Böhmer M , Van Q , Weyand I , Hagen V , Beyermann M , Matsumoto M , Hoshi M , Hildebrand E , Kaupp UB .


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The events that occur during chemotaxis of sperm are only partly known. As an essential step toward determining the underlying mechanism, we have recorded Ca2+ dynamics in swimming sperm of marine invertebrates. Stimulation of the sea urchin Arbacia punctulata by the chemoattractant or by intracellular cGMP evokes Ca2+ spikes in the flagellum. A Ca2+ spike elicits a turn in the trajectory followed by a period of straight swimming (''turn-and-run''). The train of Ca2+ spikes gives rise to repetitive loop-like movements. When sperm swim in a concentration gradient of the attractant, the Ca2+ spikes and the stimulus function are synchronized, suggesting that precise timing of Ca2+ spikes controls navigation. We identified the peptide asterosap as a chemotactic factor of the starfish Asterias amurensis. The Ca2+ 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.

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Genes referenced: LOC100887844

References [+] :
Brokaw, Calcium ion regulation of flagellar beat symmetry in reactivated sea urchin spermatozoa. 1974, Pubmed, Echinobase