Gamete interactions require transmembranous immunoglobulin-like proteins with conserved roles during evolution.
C. elegans spe-9class genes are male germline-enriched in their expression and indispensable during sperm-oocyte fusion. Identification of mammalian orthologs that exhibit similar functions to theseC. elegansgenes has been a challenge. The mouseIzumo1gene encodes a sperm-specific, immunoglobulin (Ig)-like transmembrane (TM) protein that is required for gamete fusion. We recently identified theC. elegans spe-45gene, which shows male germline-enriched expression and encodes an Ig-like TM protein.spe-45mutant worms produced otherwise normal spermatozoa that cannot fuse with oocytes, causing essentially the same phenotype as that seen in theIzumo1-knockout mice. By counting the number of self-sperm in the spermatheca ofspe-45hermaphrodites, it was found that this gene might be involved in sperm guidance from the uterus into the spermatheca, as well as gamete fusion. Moreover, we discovered that SPE-45 and IZUMO1 share certain functions for gamete fusion, which are presumably related to binding withcis- and/ortrans-partners. Intriguingly, various organisms have Ig-like TM proteins that act during gamete interactions, indicating the wide-spread utility of Ig-like domains during fertilization.
Department of Life Science, Setsunan University , Neyagawa, Osaka, Japan.
Hitoshi
H
Nishimura
Department of Biology, Emory University , Atlanta, GA, USA.
Steven W
SW
L'Hernault
C. elegans; IZUMO1; SPE-45; SPE-9 class protein; evolution; fertilization; immunoglobulin-like domain; male germline; mouse; sperm; transmembrane protein
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