Modification of crocodile spermatozoa refutes the tenet that post-testicular sperm maturation is restricted to mammals

Nixon, B; Johnston, SD; Skerrett-Byrne, DA; Anderson, AL; Stanger, SJ; Bromfield, EG; Martin, JH; Hansbro, PM; Dun, MD

Modification of crocodile spermatozoa refutes the tenet that post-testicular sperm maturation is restricted to mammals

Nixon, B

Johnston, SD Skerrett-Byrne, DA

Anderson, AL Stanger, SJ Bromfield, EG

Martin, JH Hansbro, PM

Dun, MD

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Molecular and Cellular Proteomics, 2019, 18 pp. S59 - S76
Issue Date:: 2019-03-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Nixon, B https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2745-8188	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Johnston, SD	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Skerrett-Byrne, DA https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1804-1826	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Anderson, AL	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Stanger, SJ	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Bromfield, EG https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7256-1403	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Martin, JH	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Hansbro, PM https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4741-3035	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Dun, MD https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9063-5370	en_US
dc.date.issued	2019-03-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Molecular and Cellular Proteomics, 2019, 18 pp. S59 - S76	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	1535-9476	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/131678
dc.description.abstract	© 2019 Nixon et al. Published under exclusive license by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc. Competition to achieve paternity has contributed to the development of a multitude of elaborate male reproductive strategies. In one of the most well-studied examples, the spermatozoa of all mammalian species must undergo a series of physiological changes, termed capacitation, in the female reproductive tract before realizing their potential to fertilize an ovum. However, the evolutionary origin and adaptive advantage afforded by capacitation remains obscure. Here, we report the use of comparative and quantitative proteomics to explore the biological significance of capacitation in an ancient reptilian species, the Australian saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus). Our data reveal that exposure of crocodile spermatozoa to capacitation stimuli elicits a cascade of physiological responses that are analogous to those implicated in the functional activation of their mammalian counterparts. Indeed, among a total of 1119 proteins identified in this study, we detected 126 that were differentially phosphorylated ( 1.2 fold-change) in capacitated versus noncapacitated crocodile spermatozoa. Notably, this subset of phosphorylated proteins shared substantial evolutionary overlap with those documented in mammalian spermatozoa, and included key elements of signal transduction, metabolic and cellular remodeling pathways. Unlike mammalian sperm, however, we noted a distinct bias for differential phosphorylation of serine (as opposed to tyrosine) residues, with this amino acid featuring as the target for 80% of all changes detected in capacitated spermatozoa. Overall, these results indicate that the phenomenon of sperm capacitation is unlikely to be restricted to mammals and provide a framework for understanding the molecular changes in sperm physiology necessary for fertilization.	en_US
dc.relation	http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/GNT1079187
dc.relation.ispartof	Molecular and Cellular Proteomics	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1074/mcp.RA118.000904	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	en_US
dc.title	Modification of crocodile spermatozoa refutes the tenet that post-testicular sperm maturation is restricted to mammals	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	18	en_US
utslib.for	0601 Biochemistry and Cell Biology	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science/School of Life Sciences
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	18	en_US

Abstract:

© 2019 Nixon et al. Published under exclusive license by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc. Competition to achieve paternity has contributed to the development of a multitude of elaborate male reproductive strategies. In one of the most well-studied examples, the spermatozoa of all mammalian species must undergo a series of physiological changes, termed capacitation, in the female reproductive tract before realizing their potential to fertilize an ovum. However, the evolutionary origin and adaptive advantage afforded by capacitation remains obscure. Here, we report the use of comparative and quantitative proteomics to explore the biological significance of capacitation in an ancient reptilian species, the Australian saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus). Our data reveal that exposure of crocodile spermatozoa to capacitation stimuli elicits a cascade of physiological responses that are analogous to those implicated in the functional activation of their mammalian counterparts. Indeed, among a total of 1119 proteins identified in this study, we detected 126 that were differentially phosphorylated ( 1.2 fold-change) in capacitated versus noncapacitated crocodile spermatozoa. Notably, this subset of phosphorylated proteins shared substantial evolutionary overlap with those documented in mammalian spermatozoa, and included key elements of signal transduction, metabolic and cellular remodeling pathways. Unlike mammalian sperm, however, we noted a distinct bias for differential phosphorylation of serine (as opposed to tyrosine) residues, with this amino acid featuring as the target for 80% of all changes detected in capacitated spermatozoa. Overall, these results indicate that the phenomenon of sperm capacitation is unlikely to be restricted to mammals and provide a framework for understanding the molecular changes in sperm physiology necessary for fertilization.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/131678