Cryo-electron microscopy unravels microtubule inner protein networks reinforcing mammalian sperm flagella
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: To find and fuse with the egg, mammalian sperm must complete an arduous voyage through the female reproductive tract. This odyssey is powered by the sperm tail, a specialized motile cilium. Mammalian sperm tails are reinforced at the molecular scale with sperm-specific microtubule inner proteins (sperm-MIPs), but the identities of these sperm-MIPs are unknown. Here, we report high-resolution cryo-electron microscopy structures of bovine sperm doublet microtubules (DMTs), allowing us to identify many sperm-MIPs. We also resolve structures of singlet MTs in the endpiece, revealing MIPs shared between singlet and doublet MTs. We demonstrate that at least two sperm-MIPs bind and stabilize MTs in vitro. Our structures shed light on ciliary diversity across cell types and provide structural frameworks for understanding molecular underpinnings of male infertility
INSTRUMENT(S): Orbitrap Fusion Lumos
ORGANISM(S): Bos Taurus (bovine)
TISSUE(S): Spermatozoon
SUBMITTER: Riccardo Zenezini Chiozzi
LAB HEAD: Albert Heck
PROVIDER: PXD035941 | Pride | 2023-06-20
REPOSITORIES: Pride
ACCESS DATA