Transport of Acrosomal Enzymes by KIFC1 via the Acroframosomal Cytoskeleton during Spermatogenesis in Macrobrachium rosenbergii (Crustacea, Decapoda, Malacostracea)

Simple Summary In crustaceans, the sperm have no tail, and spermatogenesis consists only of acrosomal formation and nuclear deformation. The mechanism of acrosome formation during spermatogenesis of Macrobrachium rosenbergii is one of the hot topics in reproductive biology. Many motor proteins are involved in spermatogenesis. KIFC1, as a member of the kinesin family, is one of the motor proteins that our lab has been focusing on. The acrosome contains a large number of acrosomal enzymes for the hydrolysis of the egg envelope. In order to understand how these acrosomal enzymes are transported to the acrosome cap after synthesis, we cloned the KIFC1 and the Acrosin of M. rosenbergii. By detecting the localization of KIFC1 and Acrosin, we found that Mr-KIFC1 may be involved in acrosomal enzyme transport during spermiogenesis of M. rosenbergii. This study is to propose the function of KIFC1 to transport acrosomal enzymes along the acroframosome structure during crustacean spermatogenesis. The spermatogenesis of crustaceans includes nuclear deformation and acrosome formation. The mechanism of acrosome formation is one focus of reproductive biology. In this study, Macrobrachium rosenbergii was selected as the research object to explore the mechanism of acrosome formation. The acrosome contains a large number of acrosomal enzymes for the hydrolysis of the egg envelope. How these acrosomal enzymes are transported to the acrosomal site after synthesis is the key scientific question of this study. The acroframosome (AFS) structure of caridean sperm has been reported. We hypothesized that acrosomal enzymes may be transported along the AFS framework to the acrosome by motor proteins. To study this hypothesis, we obtained the full-length cDNA sequences of Mr-kifc1 and Mr-Acrosin from the testis of M. rosenbergii. The Mr-kifc1 and Mr-Acrosin mRNA expression levels were highest in testis. We detected the distribution of Mr-KIFC1 and its colocalization with Mr-Acrosin during spermatogenesis by immunofluorescence. The colocalization of Mr-KIFC1 and microtubule indicated that Mr-KIFC1 may participate in sperm acrosome formation and nucleus maturation. The colocalization of Mr-KIFC1 and Mr-Acrosin indicated that Mr-KIFC1 may be involved in Acrosin transport during spermiogenesis of M. rosenbergii. These results suggest that Mr-KIFC1 may be involved in acrosomal enzymes transport during spermiogenesis of M. rosenbergii.