Major Sperm Protein
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The Major Sperm Protein, commonly abbrieviated to MSP, is the most abundant protein in nematode sperm, making up about 15% of the total protein in the sperm cell. It is responsible for the cell's motility.
The MSP molecules are part of the cell cytoskeleton. They are built up into a set of long chains organised into bundles at the front of the cell, and are disassembled at the back. This pushes the cell forward in a process called treadmilling.
Although there are similar amino acid sequences in other organisms, MSP appears to be unique to the sperm of nematodes.
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| Microfilaments | Actins | Myosins | Actin-binding proteins | |||
| Intermediate filaments | IFAPs | Keratins | Lamins | Neurofilaments | Type III IF proteins | |||
| Microtubules | Dyneins | Kinesins | MAPs | Tubulins | |||
| Prokaryotic cytoskeleton | Crescentin | FtsZ | MreB | |||
| Other | Major Sperm Proteins | |||
