ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF 30-NM PROTEIN PARTICLES PRESENT IN PSEUDOPODS OF THE AMEBOID SPERM OF ASCARIS-SUUM

Particles, 30 nm in diameter, were found in Triton X-100-extracted pseudopodial remnants of spermatozoa of Ascaris suum. SDS-PAGE analysis of particles isolated by differential centrifugation and detergent extraction indicated that they are composed of proteins with molecular weights of 33,000 D, 42,000 D and a group between 52,000 and 56,000 D. Antibodies against particle-associated proteins, used in immunoblots, showed that they are sperm-specific in Ascaris, and that all of the particle-associated proteins are related. Immunofluorescence labeling confirmed that particle-associated proteins are present in pseudopods of Ascaris spermatozoa. These data are consistent with the particles being elements of the motility apparatus of nematode spermatozoa. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.