Quantitative analysis of Caenorhabditis elegans sperm motility and how it is affected by mutants spe11 and unc54

The sperm of Caenorhabditis elegans translocate in a fashion similar to sperm of Ascaris suum even though their pseudopods are longer, more plastic in shape, and form multiple expansion zones around their perimeter. Mutants in spe‐11 form primary spermatocytes with a defective perinuclear region, bu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cell motility and the cytoskeleton 1997, Vol.37 (2), p.98-110
Main Authors: Royal, Dewey C., Royal, Mary Anne, Wessels, Deborah, L'Hernault, Steven, Soll, David R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Ascaris suum
C. elegans
Caenorhabditis elegans - genetics
Caenorhabditis elegans - physiology
Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins
Female
Helminth Proteins - genetics
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
Male
Microscopy, Electron
mutants
Mutation
Myosins - genetics
Nuclear Proteins
sperm motility
Sperm Motility - genetics
Sperm-Ovum Interactions
Spermatogenesis - genetics
Spermatozoa - ultrastructure
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Summary:The sperm of Caenorhabditis elegans translocate in a fashion similar to sperm of Ascaris suum even though their pseudopods are longer, more plastic in shape, and form multiple expansion zones around their perimeter. Mutants in spe‐11 form primary spermatocytes with a defective perinuclear region, but the resulting spermatozoa can still crawl and fertilize eggs. However, the resultant zygotes die due to the absence of sperm‐supplied spe‐11. Computer‐assisted analysis of translocating spe‐11 sperm reveals a novel defect in the dynamic morphology of their pseudopods. A similar analysis of the C. elegans mutant unc‐54, which lacks the most abundant isoform of myosin II, reveals no defect in sperm motility, as expected, since C. elegans sperm have substituted the protein MSP for actin in the process of pseudopod expansion. These results reveal an unexpected defect in the dynamic morphology of pseudopods of spe‐11 sperm. This defect, however, does not significantly affect crawling velocity, and it demonstrates how computer‐assisted motion analysis systems can reveal subtle behavioral phenotypes in C. elegans mutant spermatozoa. Cell Motil. Cytoskeleton 37:98–110, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss Inc.
ISSN:0886-1544
1097-0169
DOI:10.1002/(SICI)1097-0169(1997)37:2<98::AID-CM2>3.0.CO;2-D