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Craig W. LaMunyon Department of Biological Sciences |
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Sperm Lab Home |
Sperm Lab We are interested in the
development, evolution, and competition of sperm cells. Sperm Development Our investigations focus on
the activation of sperm, which is the transition from spermatid to
spermatozoan, in the nematode C. elegans. The sperm of these
worms are amoeboid, as the image to the right shows. We are analyzing several genes
that prevent spermiogenesis
until an activation signal is received.
Finally, we are studying mitochondrial inheritance in C.
elegans. We have generated mutants whose sperm mitochondria
survive in the offspring and will be very interested to examine these progeny
to determine what, if any, defects they have. Sperm Competition Our studies of sperm
competition examine the forces that affect sperm competition and have
involved our favorite organism, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, and the moths Utetheisa ornatrix and Heliothis virescens. Our
studies have shown the importance of the female as a mediator of sperm
interactions in moths and the sperm adaptations that evolve in response to
competition in nematode sperm.
We have even studied the psychological adaptations to sperm
competition in humans. |
Sperm
cells from C. elegans |
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