spe-12 encodes a sperm cell surface protein that promotes spermiogenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans.
During spermiogenesis, Caenorhabditis elegans spermatids activate and mature into crawling spermatozoa without synthesizing new proteins. Mutations in the spe-12 gene block spermatid activation, rendering normally self-fertile hermaphrodites sterile. Mutant males, however, are fertile. Surprisingly, when mutant hermaphrodites mate with a male, their self-spermatids activate and form functional spermatozoa, presumably due to contact with male seminal fluid. Here we show that, in addition to its essential role in normal activation of hermaphrodite-derived spermatids, SPE-12 also plays a supplementary but nonessential role in mating-induced activation. We have identified the spe-12 gene, which encodes a novel protein containing a single transmembrane domain. spe-12 mRNA is expressed in the sperm-producing germ line and the protein localizes to the spermatid cell surface. We propose that SPE-12 functions downstream of both hermaphrodite- and male-derived activation signals in a spermatid signaling pathway that initiates spermiogenesis.
Nance
J
J
Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA.
Minniti
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AN
Sadler
C
C
Ward
S
S
D000483:Alleles; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D015153:Blotting, Western; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000235:genetics; D012734:Disorders of Sex Development; D005838:Genotype; D008297:Male; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016296:Mutagenesis; D013091:Spermatogenesis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors; D014170:Transformation, Genetic
D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; C119885:SPE-12 protein, C elegans