Regensburg 2019 – scientific programme
Parts | Days | Selection | Search | Updates | Downloads | Help
BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 19: Focus session: Physics of cilia: Dynamics of synchronized oscillators
BP 19.5: Talk
Wednesday, April 3, 2019, 16:15–16:30, H11
Meet the beat: an inter-species study of the 3-dimensional flagellar beat — •An Gong1, Sebastian Rode2, Rene Pascal1, Benjamin Friedrich3, Jens Elgeti2, Stephan Irsen1, Luz Perez4, Gerhard Gompper2, Benjamin Kaupp1, and Luis Alvarez1 — 1Center of Advanced European Studies and Research (caesar), Bonn, Germany — 2Institute of Complex Systems, Jülich, Germany — 3Center for Advancing Electronics, Dresden, Germany — 4Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología Animal, València, Spain
Sperm capture sensory cues that are processed and translated into a time pattern of three-dimensional (3D) flagellar beat for propulsion and steering to find the egg. However, sperm of different species are confronted with quite different fertilization habitats and, accordingly, differ greatly in behaviors. The 3D flagellar beat pattern underlying behaviors and the molecular mechanism involved are not yet understood.
We used holographic microscopy to study the 3D movement of sperm flagella and the resulting swimming behaviors across different species including two external (sea urchin and eel) and two internal (human and mouse) fertilizers. The difference and commonalities among sperm from diverse species are described with a focus on sea urchin and human sperm. Furthermore, we describe novel features of the beat that underlie the sperm behaviors and we propose a link between these 3D beat features and internal flagellar structures.