TY - JOUR
T1 - The regulation of spermatogenesis and sperm function in nematodes
AU - Ellis, Ronald E.
AU - Stanfield, Gillian M.
N1 - Funding Information:
RE was supported by NSF grant 1021128 , and GS by NIH R01-GM087705 . We thank Mike Miller and Steve L’Hernault for comments.
PY - 2014/5
Y1 - 2014/5
N2 - In the nematode C. elegans, both males and self-fertile hermaphrodites produce sperm. As a result, researchers have been able to use a broad range of genetic and genomic techniques to dissect all aspects of sperm development and function. Their results show that the early stages of spermatogenesis are controlled by transcriptional and translational processes, but later stages are dominated by protein kinases and phosphatases. Once spermatids are produced, they participate in many interactions with other cells - signals from the somatic gonad determine when sperm activate and begin to crawl, signals from the female reproductive tissues guide the sperm, and signals from sperm stimulate oocytes to mature and be ovulated. The sperm also show strong competitive interactions with other sperm and oocytes. Some of the molecules that mediate these processes have conserved functions in animal sperm, others are conserved proteins that have been adapted for new roles in nematode sperm, and some are novel proteins that provide insights into evolutionary change. The advent of new techniques should keep this system on the cutting edge of research in cellular and reproductive biology.
AB - In the nematode C. elegans, both males and self-fertile hermaphrodites produce sperm. As a result, researchers have been able to use a broad range of genetic and genomic techniques to dissect all aspects of sperm development and function. Their results show that the early stages of spermatogenesis are controlled by transcriptional and translational processes, but later stages are dominated by protein kinases and phosphatases. Once spermatids are produced, they participate in many interactions with other cells - signals from the somatic gonad determine when sperm activate and begin to crawl, signals from the female reproductive tissues guide the sperm, and signals from sperm stimulate oocytes to mature and be ovulated. The sperm also show strong competitive interactions with other sperm and oocytes. Some of the molecules that mediate these processes have conserved functions in animal sperm, others are conserved proteins that have been adapted for new roles in nematode sperm, and some are novel proteins that provide insights into evolutionary change. The advent of new techniques should keep this system on the cutting edge of research in cellular and reproductive biology.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.semcdb.2014.04.005
DO - 10.1016/j.semcdb.2014.04.005
M3 - Review article
C2 - 24718317
AN - SCOPUS:84901615999
SN - 1084-9521
VL - 29
SP - 17
EP - 30
JO - Seminars in Cell and Developmental Biology
JF - Seminars in Cell and Developmental Biology
ER -