Click here to close Hello! We notice that you are using Internet Explorer, which is not supported by Echinobase and may cause the site to display incorrectly. We suggest using a current version of Chrome, FireFox, or Safari.
Echinobase
ECB-ART-39365
Zoolog Sci 2005 Mar 01;223:293-9. doi: 10.2108/zsj.22.293.
Show Gene links Show Anatomy links

Sperm-activating peptide induces asymmetric flagellar bending in sea urchin sperm.

Shiba K , Ohmuro J , Mogami Y , Nishigaki T , Wood CD , Darszon A , Tatsu Y , Yumoto N , Baba SA .


???displayArticle.abstract???
Speract, a sperm-activating peptide (SAP) from sea urchin eggs, induces various sperm responses including a transient increase in the intracellular Ca2+ concentration. However, it has not been clarified how speract modulates sperm motility and whether it functions as a chemoattractant. To confirm the effect of speract on sperm motility, we observed the flagellar bending response to speract in sperm of Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus, in experiments using caged speract and a lighting system for a microscope newly developed with a power LED. We found that speract induces increases in curvature of swimming paths and changes flagellar bending shape to asymmetric. These facts show that speract directly regulates flagellar motility, and suggest that speract-induced increases in intracellular Ca2+ concentration play an actual role in regulation of the flagellar movement.

???displayArticle.pubmedLink??? 15795491
???displayArticle.link??? Zoolog Sci


Genes referenced: LOC100887844 LOC576642