View Program - 63rd Annual Drosophila Research Conference

The Head-Tail Connection Apparatus (HTCA) establishes and maintains the connection between the sperm’s nucleus and elongating axoneme. Failure of the HTCA results in decapitation which can lead to male infertility. The structure of the HTCA has been investigated through electron microscopy but only a few proteins have been implicated in establishing and/or maintaining this connection. It is highly likely that there are unknown factors contributing to the integrity of this connection as neither direct nor indirect interactions between the known factors have been elucidated. In order to identify unknown factors, we are conducting a GFP localization screen of proteins in the Drosophila Sperm Proteome (Wasbrough et al 2010). Of the 1108 proteins in the sperm proteome, there are 167 proteins with endogenously-tagged GFP stocks available through Bloomington Drosophila Stock Center. We started this screen by looking at 30 of these 167 available stocks. In this initial selection, we prioritized unnamed proteins and proteins with known cytoskeletal binding activity. So far, we have identified 2 proteins with localizations at or near the HTCA and are following up on both by looking at knockdown phenotypes. We have also identified several proteins which localize to other structures during sperm development. This initial success has encouraged us examine other GFP-tagged lines. While the primary goal of this project is to identify factors involved in the HTCA, our initial data also indicates that this screen will uncover factors involved in other aspects of Drosophila sperm development.

Exploring The Sperm Head-Tail Connection Apparatus