Genetic dissection of sperm individualization in Drosophila melanogaster

Abstract

The morphogenesis of spermatids generally takes place within a syncytium, in which all spermatid nuclei descended from a primary spermatocyte remain connected via an extensive network of cytoplasmic bridges. A late step in sperm maturation therefore requires the physical resolution of the syncytium, or cyst, into individual cells, a process sometimes referred to as sperm individualization. Despite the identification of specialized machinery involved in the individualization of Drosophila spermatids, and of many Drosophila genes mutable to male-sterile phenotypes, little is known of the mechanisms by which this extensive remodeling of the cyst is accomplished. Here, the identification of a ma..