High impact information on Spef1

• These data raise the possibility that Tctex-2 is a sperm flagellar dynein component [1].
• Myristoylation of sea urchin sperm flagellar creatine kinase may play a role in confining this enzyme to the flagellum during spermatogenesis [2].
• Microarray, bioinformatics, and in situ hybridization techniques detected a rapid shift in favor of pro-apoptotic proteins, a progressive immune response by macrophages and dendritic cells, and identified or predicted 439 mRNAs enriched in olfactory sensory neurons, including gene silencing factors and sperm flagellar proteins [3].
• Microarray, bioinformatics, and in situ hybridization techniques detected a rapid shift in favor of pro-apoptotic proteins, a progressive immune response by macrophages and dendritic cells, and identified or predicted 439 mRNAs enriched in olfactory sensory neurons, including gene silencing factors and sperm flagellar proteins [4].
• We further show that an abnormality in sperm flagellar curvature deriving from interactions between t haplotypes and the M. spretus allele of Hst-6 is indistinguishable from one exhibited by sperm from mice carrying two t haplotypes [5].

Biological context of Spef1

• t haplotypes in the mouse compromise sperm flagellar function [6].
• In addition, sperm flagellar curvature was abnormal: flagella from heterozygotes had an acute bend in the midpiece, giving the sperm a "fishhook" appearance, while the entire flagellum of sperm from tw32/tw5 mice was curled [6].
• Glycolysis plays a major role for adenosine triphosphate supplementation in mouse sperm flagellar movement [7].

Anatomical context of Spef1

• A rat sperm flagellar surface antigen that originates in the testis and is expressed on the flagellar surface during epididymal transit [8].
• Immunogold electron microscopy showed that the antigen was present on the surface of the sperm flagellar plasma membrane [8].
• Sperm flagellar ultrastructure is normal and all sperm tails; even those devoid of recognizable heads, are highly motile [9].
• Sperm flagellar motion is the outcome of a dynamic interplay between the axonemal cytoskeleton, the peri-axonemal accessory structures, and multiple regulatory networks that coordinate to produce flagellar beat and waveform [10].

Other interactions of Spef1

• Males heterozygous for the M. spretus allele of Hst6 and a t haplotype (Hst6(s)/t) are sterile, expressing an abnormality in sperm flagellar curvature ("curlicue") indistinguishable from one exhibited by sperm from t/t homozygotes [11].
• Analysis of the Gtrgeo22 gene product should provide novel insight into the molecular basis for intermale aggression and sperm flagellar development [12].
• Hybrid sterility-6: a mouse t complex locus controlling sperm flagellar assembly and movement [5].

References