Major sperm protein

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The Major Sperm Protein, commonly abbrieviated to MSP, is the most abundant protein in nematode sperm, making up about 15% of the total protein in the sperm cell. It is responsible for the cell's motility.

The MSP molecules are part of the cell cytoskeleton. They are built up into a set of long chains organised into bundles at the front of the cell, and are disassembled at the back. This pushes the cell forward in a process called treadmilling.

Although there are similar amino acid sequences in other organisms, MSP appears to be unique to the sperm of nematodes.

[edit] References

• Overview at University of Arizona

[edit] External links

• MeSH major+sperm+protein,+nematode

v • d • e Proteins of the cytoskeleton Microfilaments Actins - Actin-binding proteins - Actinin - Arp2/3 complex - Cofilin - Destrin - Gelsolin - Myosins - Profilin - Tropomodulin - Troponin (T, C, I) - Tropomyosin - Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein Intermediate filaments type 1 and 2 (Cytokeratin, type I, type II) - type 3 (Desmin, GFAP, Peripherin, Vimentin) - type 4 (Internexin, Nestin, Neurofilament, Synemin, Syncoilin) - type 5 (Lamin A, B) Microtubules Dyneins - Kinesins - MAPs (Tau protein, Dynamin) - Tubulins - Stathmin - Tektin Catenins Alpha catenin - Beta catenin - Plakoglobin (gamma catenin) - Delta catenin Nonhuman Major sperm proteins - Prokaryotic cytoskeleton (Crescentin, FtsZ, MreB) Other APC - Dystrophin (Dystroglycan) - plakin (Desmoplakin, Plectin) - Spectrin - Talin - Utrophin - Vinculin