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Mitochondria-driven cell elongation mechanism for competing sperms

Volume 6, Issue 2   April/May/June 2012
Pages 113 - 116
http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/fly.19862
Keywords: cell elongation, microtubule, mitochondria, sperm competition, spermatogenesis
Authors: Tatsuhiko Noguchi, Michiko Koizumi and Shigeo Hayashi

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Abstract:
Sexual competition has selected a number of extreme phenotypes like the tail ornament of peacock male. Sperm tail of Drosophilidae elongate up to 6 cm as a result of evolutionary selection for reproductive fitness among competing sperms. Sperm elongation takes place post meiotically and can proceed in the absence of an axoneme. Here, we used primary cultures of elongating spermatids of D. melanogaster to demonstrate that sperm elongation is driven by interdependent extension of giant mitochondria and microtubule array that is formed around the mitochondrial surface. This work established that, in addition to functioning as an energy source, mitochondria can serve as internal skeleton for shaping cell morphology.

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T Noguchi, M Koizumi, S Hayashi. Sustained elongation of sperm tail promoted by local remodeling of giant mitochondria in Drosophila. Curr Biol 2011; 21: 805-14
PMID: 21549602 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2011.04.016

Received: September 12, 2011; Accepted: February 29, 2012

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