Sperm navigation along helical paths in 3D chemoattractant landscapes

Jan F. Jikeli, Luis Alvarez (), Benjamin M. Friedrich (), Laurence G. Wilson (), René Pascal, Remy Colin, Magdalena Pichlo, Andreas Rennhack, Christoph Brenker and U. Benjamin Kaupp
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Jan F. Jikeli: Molecular Sensory Systems, Center of Advanced European Studies and Research (caesar)
Luis Alvarez: Molecular Sensory Systems, Center of Advanced European Studies and Research (caesar)
Benjamin M. Friedrich: Biological Physics, Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems
Laurence G. Wilson: University of York
René Pascal: Molecular Sensory Systems, Center of Advanced European Studies and Research (caesar)
Remy Colin: Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology
Magdalena Pichlo: Molecular Sensory Systems, Center of Advanced European Studies and Research (caesar)
Andreas Rennhack: Molecular Sensory Systems, Center of Advanced European Studies and Research (caesar)
Christoph Brenker: Centre of Reproductive Medicine and Andrology, University of Muenster
U. Benjamin Kaupp: Molecular Sensory Systems, Center of Advanced European Studies and Research (caesar)

Nature Communications, 2015, vol. 6, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Sperm require a sense of direction to locate the egg for fertilization. They follow gradients of chemical and physical cues provided by the egg or the oviduct. However, the principles underlying three-dimensional (3D) navigation in chemical landscapes are unknown. Here using holographic microscopy and optochemical techniques, we track sea urchin sperm navigating in 3D chemoattractant gradients. Sperm sense gradients on two timescales, which produces two different steering responses. A periodic component, resulting from the helical swimming, gradually aligns the helix towards the gradient. When incremental path corrections fail and sperm get off course, a sharp turning manoeuvre puts sperm back on track. Turning results from an ‘off’ Ca2+ response signifying a chemoattractant stimulation decrease and, thereby, a drop in cyclic GMP concentration and membrane voltage. These findings highlight the computational sophistication by which sperm sample gradients for deterministic klinotaxis. We provide a conceptual and technical framework for studying microswimmers in 3D chemical landscapes.

Date: 2015
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms8985

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