Bimodal rheotactic behavior reflects flagellar beat asymmetry in human sperm cells
Name
Bukatin-2015-Bimodal rheotactic b.pdf
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Author(s)
Bukatin, Anton
Kukhtevich, Igor
Kantsler, Vasily
Stoop, Norbert
Dunkel, Joern
Date Issued
December 2015
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Publisher
National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)
Citation
Bukatin, Anton et al. “Bimodal Rheotactic Behavior Reflects Flagellar Beat Asymmetry in Human Sperm Cells.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112.52 (2015): 15904–15909. © 2017 National Academy of Sciences
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Successful sperm navigation is essential for sexual reproduction, yet we still understand relatively little about how sperm cells are able to adapt their swimming motion in response to chemical and physical cues. This lack of knowledge is owed to the fact that it has been difficult to observe directly the full 3D dynamics of the whip-like flagellum that propels the cell through the fluid. To overcome this deficiency, we apply a new algorithm to reconstruct the 3D beat patterns of human sperm cells in experiments under varying flow conditions. Our analysis reveals that the swimming strokes of human sperm are considerably more complex than previously thought, and that sperm may use their heads as rudders to turn right or left.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mathematics
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Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1515159112
