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Science 16 March 2001:
Vol. 291. no. 5511, pp. 2144 - 2147
DOI: 10.1126/science.1057586
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Reports

A Sperm Cytoskeletal Protein That Signals Oocyte Meiotic Maturation and Ovulation

Michael A. Miller,1 Viet Q. Nguyen,2 Min-Ho Lee,3 Mary Kosinski,1 Tim Schedl,3 Richard M. Caprioli,2 David Greenstein1*

Caenorhabditis elegans oocytes, like those of most animals, arrest during meiotic prophase. Sperm promote the resumption of meiosis (maturation) and contraction of smooth muscle-like gonadal sheath cells, which are required for ovulation. We show that the major sperm cytoskeletal protein (MSP) is a bipartite signal for oocyte maturation and sheath contraction. MSP also functions in sperm locomotion, playing a role analogous to actin. Thus, during evolution, MSP has acquired extracellular signaling and intracellular cytoskeletal functions for reproduction. Proteins with MSP-like domains are found in plants, fungi, and other animals, suggesting that related signaling functions may exist in other phyla.

1 Department of Cell Biology,
2 Mass Spectrometry Research Center, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USA.
3 Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
*   To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: david.greenstein{at}mcmail.vanderbilt.edu

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