Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Volume 109, Issue 5, Pages 1542-1547Publisher
NATL ACAD SCIENCES
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1109912109
Keywords
cell motility; regulated exocytosis; sperm competition; postcopulatory sexual selection; de novo sequencing
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Funding
- government of the People's Republic of China [2012CB94502, 2010CB912303, 30971648, 2007AA02Z1A7, 2010CB835203, 2010CB912701, 30871226, 31071180]
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
- National Institutes of Health [GM082932]
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Spermiogenesis is a series of poorly understood morphological, physiological and biochemical processes that occur during the transition of immotile spermatids into motile, fertilization-competent spermatozoa. Here, we identified a Serpin (serine protease inhibitor) family protein (As_SRP-1) that is secreted from spermatids during nematode Ascaris suum spermiogenesis (also called sperm activation) and we showed that As_SRP-1 has two major functions. First, As_SRP-1 functions in cis to supportmajor spermprotein (MSP)-based cytoskeletal assembly in the spermatid that releases it, thereby facilitating sperm motility acquisition. Second, As_SRP-1 released from an activated sperm inhibits, in trans, the activation of surrounding spermatids by inhibiting vas deferens-derived As_TRY-5, a trypsin-like serine protease necessary for sperm activation. Because vesicular exocytosis is necessary to create fertilization-competent sperm in many animal species, components released during this process might be more important modulators of the physiology and behavior of surrounding sperm than was previously appreciated.
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