FRAP analysis of molecular diffusion inside sea-urchin spermatozoa

FRAP analysis of molecular diffusion inside sea-urchin spermatozoa.

In sea-urchin spermatozoa, energy required for flagellar motility is provided by ATP diffusion from mitochondria located at the proximal ends of the flagella along with the creatine shuttle system. However, no direct analysis of the diffusion rates inside flagella has been carried out thus far. Using a FRAP (fluorescence recovery after photobleaching) technique, we determined the diffusion coef...

Osmotic adaptation of sea-urchin spermatozoa.

Spermatozoa depend on their motility to accomplish their function of fertili¬ zation. In the case of sea-urchins and other marine organisms, the ionic com¬ position of sea-water is among the environmental factors that affect motility and longevity (Bishop, 1962). We have started studies of specific ion concen¬ tration changes in the sea-water as they affect the motility of sea-urchin spermatozo...

The Physiology of Sea-urchin Spermatozoa

Since Gray showed in 1928 that dilute suspensions of sea-urchin spermatozoa respire at a higher rate, per spermatozoon, than dense suspensions, evidence has been accumulating which suggests that sea-urchin spermatozoa are in different physiological conditions in suspensions of different densities. This paper is concerned with these differences and, in particular, with the effects of rigorous pH...

The Physiology of Sea - Urchin Spermatozoa Catalase

FRAP analysis of secretory granule lipids and proteins in the sea urchin egg.

Cortical granules of the sea urchin are secreted at fertilization in response to sperm fusion. Approximately 15,000 of these vesicles are tightly tethered to the cytoplasmic face of the egg plasma membrane prior to insemination such that the vesicle-plasma membrane complex may be isolated and manipulated in vitro. Furthermore, this complex remains fusion competent and can thus be used for in vi...