The purpose of this study is to investigate how the mitochondrial membrane potential affects sperm motility using laser tweezers and a non-ratiometric fluorescent probe, DiOC6(3). A 1064nm Nd:YVO4 continuous wave laser was used to trap motile sperm at a power of 450mW in the trap spot. Using customized tracking software, the curvilinear velocity (VCL) and the escape force from the laser tweezers weremeasured. Human (Homo sapiens), dog (Canis lupis familiaris) and drill (Mandrillus leucophaeus) sperm were treated with DiOC6(3) to measure the membrane potential in the mitochondria-rich sperm midpieces. Sperm from all three species exhibited an increase in fluorescence when treated with the DiOC6(3). When a cyanide inhibitor (CCCP) of aerobic respiration was applied, sperm of all three species exhibited a reduction in fluorescence to pre-dye levels. With respect to VCL and escape force, the CCCP had no effect on dog or human sperm, suggesting a major reliance upon anaerobic respiration (glycolysis) for ATP in these two species. Based on the preliminary study on drill sperm, CCCP caused a drop in the VCL, suggesting potential reliance on both glycolysis and aerobic respiration for motility. The results demonstrate that optical trapping in combination with DiOC 6(3) is an effective way to study sperm motility and energetics. © 2011 IOP Publishing Ltd.

How cells control organelle size is an elusive problem. Two predominant models for size control can be distinguished: (1) induced control, where organelle genesis, maintenance, and disassembly are three separate programs that are activated in response to size change, and (2) constitutive control, where stable size results from the balance between continuous organelle assembly and disassembly. The problem has been studied in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii because the flagella are easy to measure, their size changes only in the length dimension, and the genetics are comparable to yeast. Length dynamics in Chlamydomonas flagella are quite robust: they maintain a length of about 12 μm and recover from amputation in about 90 min with a growth rate that decreases smoothly to zero as the length approaches 12 μm. Despite a wealth of experimental studies, existing data are consistent with both induced and constitutive control models for flagella. Here we developed novel microfluidic trapping and laser microsurgery techniques in Chlamydomonas to distinguish between length control models by measuring the two flagella on a single cell as they equilibrate after amputation of a single flagellum. The results suggest that cells equalize flagellar length by constitutive control.

We used a trapping laser to stop chromosome movements in Mesostoma and crane-fly spermatocytes and inward movements of spindle poles after laser cuts across Potorous tridactylus (rat kangaroo) kidney (PtK2) cell half-spindles. Mesostoma spermatocyte kinetochores execute oscillatory movements to and away from the spindle pole for 1-2 h, so we could trap kinetochores multiple times in the same spermatocyte. The trap was focused to a single point using a 63× oil immersion objective. Trap powers of 15-23 mW caused kinetochore oscillations to stop or decrease. Kinetochore oscillations resumed when the trap was released. In crane-fly spermatocytes trap powers of 56-85 mW stopped or slowed poleward chromosome movement. In PtK2 cells 8-mW trap power stopped the spindle pole from moving toward the equator. Forces in the traps were calculated using the equation F = Q'P/c, where P is the laser power and c is the speed of light. Use of appropriate Q' coefficients gave the forces for stopping pole movements as 0.3-2.3 pN and for stopping chromosome movements in Mesostoma spermatocytes and crane-fly spermatocytes as 2-3 and 6-10 pN, respectively. These forces are close to theoretical calculations of forces causing chromosome movements but 100 times lower than the 700 pN measured previously in grasshopper spermatocytes.

CtIP plays an important role in homologous recombination (HR)-mediated DNA double-stranded break (DSB) repair and interacts with Nbs1 and BRCA1, which are linked to Nijmegen breakage syndrome (NBS) and familial breast cancer, respectively. We identified new CDK phosphorylation sites on CtIP and found that phosphorylation of these newly identified CDK sites induces association of CtIP with the N-terminus FHA and BRCT domains of Nbs1. We further showed that these CDK-dependent phosphorylation events are a prerequisite for ATM to phosphorylate CtIP upon DNA damage, which is important for end resection to activate HR by promoting recruitment of BLM and Exo1 to DSBs. Most notably, this CDK-dependent CtIP and Nbs1 interaction facilitates ATM to phosphorylate CtIP in a substrate-specific manner. These studies reveal one important mechanism to regulate cell-cycle-dependent activation of HR upon DNA damage by coupling CDK- and ATM-mediated phosphorylation of CtIP through modulating the interaction of CtIP with Nbs1, which significantly helps to understand how DSB repair is regulated in mammalian cells to maintain genome stability.