Male Fertility

Inheritance of genetic material from males in humans and many other animals requires flagellated, motile sperm. Sperm construction involves extensive rearrangements of the nucleus, mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi, and cytoskeleton. Failures in these processes can compromise sperm function and fertility.

Our lab studies how sperm basal bodies are formed and specialized to connect the haploid nucleus to the flagellum.

Building the sperm head–tail connection

The sperm head contains genetic material, while the tail provides the force for swimming. Their connection depends on the centriole: one end attaches to the nuclear envelope, while the other organizes the microtubule-based axoneme of the flagellum. We investigate the architecture and molecular interactions that build and maintain this connection, including specialized centriolar structures, pericentriolar material, and nuclear-envelope components.