Study identifies the role played by a protein called CENTROBIN in sperm tail development.

‘CENTROBIN is well conserved between humans and flies and is a positive regulator of normal flagellum development.’

Using the vinegar fly Drosophila melanogaster as a model to study how the sperm tail develops, Gonzalez's Cell Division Lab has found that CENTROBIN plays a critical role in the assembly of a subset of microtubules within basal bodies. In the absence of CENTROBIN, basal bodies lack these microtubules, as do the non-motile tails that they template. Consequently, CENTROBIN mutant males are sterile. 




A human condition: "easily decapitated spermatozoa defect'
In addition to the faulty microtubule array within the tail, the head-to-tail link is often severed in CENTROBIN mutant sperm. This effect is reminiscent of a human male sterility condition known as the "easily decapitated spermatozoa defect'. Semen from individuals affected by this condition appears normal, but minimal micro-manipulation, such as that required for in vitro fertilisation, results in sperm heads that are separated from their tails and thus that cannot swim.
In summary, the recent article demonstrates that CENTROBIN, which is well conserved between humans and flies, is a positive regulator of normal flagellum development. Remarkably, a previous study by the same group showed that CENTROBIN exerts a negative effect in the development of primary cilia. Primary cilia are a shorter version of flagella that are present in certain neurons in the fly and in many cell types in humans, where they function as sensors of external stimuli. Like flagella, primary cilia contain a microtubule array that is templated by the basal body.
Taken together, these results reveal the multifunctional nature of CENTROBIN, a protein that plays opposing roles in distinct cell types in the same organism.
Source-Eurekalert