title: The CatSper channel controls chemosensation in sea urchin sperm.
abstract: Sperm guidance is controlled by chemical and physical cues. In many species, Ca(2+) bursts in the flagellum govern navigation to the egg. In Arbacia punctulata, a model system of sperm chemotaxis, a cGMP signaling pathway controls these Ca(2+) bursts. The underlying Ca(2+) channel and its mechanisms of activation are unknown. Here, we identify CatSper Ca(2+) channels in the flagellum of A. punctulata sperm. We show that CatSper mediates the chemoattractant-evoked Ca(2+) influx and controls chemotactic steering; a concomitant alkalization serves as a highly cooperative mechanism that enables CatSper to transduce periodic voltage changes into Ca(2+) bursts. Our results reveal intriguing phylogenetic commonalities but also variations between marine invertebrates and mammals regarding the function and control of CatSper. The variations probably reflect functional and mechanistic adaptations that evolved during the transition from external to internal fertilization.
authors.affiliation: Center of Advanced European Studies and Research (Caesar), Abteilung Molekulare Neurosensorik, Bonn, Germany Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Reinhard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Seifert
authors.affiliation: Center of Advanced European Studies and Research (Caesar), Abteilung Molekulare Neurosensorik, Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Melanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Flick
authors.affiliation: Center of Advanced European Studies and Research (Caesar), Abteilung Molekulare Neurosensorik, Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Bönigk
authors.affiliation: Center of Advanced European Studies and Research (Caesar), Abteilung Molekulare Neurosensorik, Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Alvarez
authors.affiliation: Ruhr-Universität Bochum Lehrstuhl Biochemie der Pflanzen, Bochum, Germany.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Trötschel
authors.affiliation: Ruhr-Universität Bochum Lehrstuhl Biochemie der Pflanzen, Bochum, Germany.
authors.forename: Ansgar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Poetsch
authors.affiliation: Center of Advanced European Studies and Research (Caesar), Abteilung Molekulare Neurosensorik, Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Astrid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.affiliation: Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA, USA Laboratory of Molecular Signalling, Babraham Institute, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Normann
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Goodwin
authors.affiliation: Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA, USA Institut für Anatomie und Zellbiologie, Abteilung für Funktionelle Neuroanatomie, Universität Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Patric
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pelzer
authors.affiliation: Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA, USA Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, UK.
authors.forename: Nachiket D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Kashikar
authors.affiliation: Helmholtz-Zentrum München, Institut für Molekulare Immunologie, München, Germany.
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kremmer
authors.affiliation: Center of Advanced European Studies and Research (Caesar), Abteilung Molekulare Neurosensorik, Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jikeli
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institut für Molekulare Genetik, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Timmermann
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institut für Molekulare Genetik, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Heiner
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kuhl
authors.affiliation: Center of Advanced European Studies and Research (Caesar), Abteilung Molekulare Neurosensorik, Bonn, Germany Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Dmitry
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fridman
authors.affiliation: Center of Advanced European Studies and Research (Caesar), Abteilung Molekulare Neurosensorik, Bonn, Germany Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Windler
authors.affiliation: Center of Advanced European Studies and Research (Caesar), Abteilung Molekulare Neurosensorik, Bonn, Germany Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA, USA timo.struenker@caesar.de u.b.kaupp@caesar.de.
authors.forename: U Benjamin
authors.initials: UB
authors.lastname: Kaupp
authors.affiliation: Center of Advanced European Studies and Research (Caesar), Abteilung Molekulare Neurosensorik, Bonn, Germany Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA, USA timo.struenker@caesar.de u.b.kaupp@caesar.de.
authors.forename: Timo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Strünker
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D020013:Calcium Signaling / Q000502:physiology*; D002633:Chemotaxis / Q000502:physiology*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D008297:Male; D008564:Membrane Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D012617:Sea Urchins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D015220:Calcium Channels
keywords: Ca2+ signaling; CatSper; chemotaxis; sperm