A New Player in the Spermiogenesis Pathway of Caenorhabditis elegans

Genetics
Craig W LamunyonJessica N Clark

Abstract

Precise timing of sperm activation ensures the greatest likelihood of fertilization. Precision in Caenorhabditis elegans sperm activation is ensured by external signaling, which induces the spherical spermatid to reorganize and extend a pseudopod for motility. Spermatid activation, also called spermiogenesis, is prevented from occurring prematurely by the activity of SPE-6 and perhaps other proteins, termed "the brake model." Here, we identify the spe-47 gene from the hc198 mutation that causes premature spermiogenesis. The mutation was isolated in a suppressor screen of spe-27(it132ts), which normally renders worms sterile, due to defective transduction of the activation signal. In a spe-27(+) background, spe-47(hc198) causes a temperature-sensitive reduction of fertility, and in addition to premature spermiogenesis, many mutant sperm fail to activate altogether. The hc198 mutation is semidominant, inducing a more severe loss of fertility than do null alleles generated by CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) technology. The hc198 mutation affects an major sperm protein (MSP) domain, altering a conserved amino acid residue in a β-strand that mediates MSP-MSP dimerization. Both N- and C-terminal SPE-47 reporters associate with the...Continue Reading

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Citations

Mar 2, 2016·International Journal of Molecular Sciences·Takuma Sugi
Jul 30, 2021·Advanced Genetics·Xue Mei, Andrew W Singson
Nov 6, 2021·Development·Chieh-Hsiang Tan, Kerry Kornfeld

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