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The signal flow and motor response controling chemotaxis of sea urchin sperm

Nature Cell Biology volume 5, pages 109–117 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

The signalling pathway and the behavioural strategy underlying chemotaxis of sperm are poorly understood. We have studied the cellular events and motor responses that mediate chemotaxis of sperm from the sea urchin Arbacia punctulata. Here we show that resact, a chemoattractant peptide, initiates a rapid and transient rise in the concentration of cyclic GMP, followed by a transient influx of Ca2+. The binding of a single resact molecule elicits a Ca2+ response, and 50–100 bound molecules saturate the response. The ability to register single molecules is reminiscent of the single-photon sensitivity of rod photoreceptors. Both resact and cyclic nucleotides cause a turn or brief tumbling in the swimming path of sperm. We conclude that a cGMP-mediated increase in the Ca2+ concentration induces the primary motor response of sperm to the chemoattractant.

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Figure 1: Resact-induced changes in cyclic nucleotide concentrations in sperm.
Figure 2: Resact-induced changes in Ca2+ concentration in sperm.
Figure 3: Responses of sperm to single resact molecules.
Figure 4: Ca2+ responses in sperm evoked by cyclic nucleotides.
Figure 5: Modes of behaviour and flagellar waveforms of sperm.
Figure 6: Increase in Ca2+ concentration in sperm induced by resact and caged resact.
Figure 7: Behaviour of sperm on stimulation by resact released from caged resact.
Figure 8: Behaviour of sperm on photolysis of caged cyclic nucleotides.

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Acknowledgements

We thank members of the Kaupp laboratory for reading the manuscript and discussions; H.-D. Grammig for making the figures; and A. Eckert for preparing the manuscript. This work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Biologische Informationsverarbeitung, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, 52425, Germany

    U. Benjamin Kaupp, Johannes Solzin, Eilo Hildebrand, Annika Helbig, Francesco Pampaloni & Ingo Weyand

  2. Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, 02543, MA, USA

    U. Benjamin Kaupp, Johannes Solzin, Joel E. Brown, Annika Helbig & Ingo Weyand

  3. Department of Ophthalmology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, 10461, NY, USA

    Joel E. Brown

  4. Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie, Berlin, 13125, Germany

    Volker Hagen & Michael Beyermann

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Correspondence to U. Benjamin Kaupp.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Figures

Figure S1 Changes in [Ca2+]i in sperm stimulated by resact in the presence of 0.5 mM IBMX. (PDF 344 kb)

Figure S2 Accumulation of sperm in an area (rectangular field) of photolysed caged resact (10 μM). cells entering the area of released resact (20 ms intervals between consecutive

Figure S3 Models of Chemotactic Signaling.

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Kaupp, U., Solzin, J., Hildebrand, E. et al. The signal flow and motor response controling chemotaxis of sea urchin sperm. Nat Cell Biol 5, 109–117 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncb915

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