ArticlePLoS computational biology2021
Sperm chemotaxis in marine species is optimal at physiological flow rates according theory of filament surfing.
Article in PLoS computational biology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- Slower swimming promotes chemotactic encounters between bacteria and small phytoplankton.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Reinforcement learning of biomimetic navigation: a model problem for sperm chemotaxis.The European physical journal. E, Soft matter · 2024Article
- Active oscillations in microscale navigation.Animal cognition · 2023Review
- Encounter rates prime interactions between microorganisms.Interface focus · 2023Review
- Article
- Modelling Motility: The Mathematics of Spermatozoa.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2021Review
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Sperm of marine invertebrates have to find eggs cells in the ocean. Turbulent flows mix sperm and egg cells up to the millimeter scale; below this, active swimming and chemotaxis become important. Previous work addressed either turbulent mixing or chemotaxis in still water. Here, we present a general theory of sperm chemotaxis inside the smallest eddies of turbulent flow, where signaling molecules released by egg cells are spread into thin concentration filaments. Sperm cells 'surf' along these filaments towards the egg. External flows make filaments longer, but also thinner. These opposing effects set an optimal flow strength. The optimum predicted by our theory matches flow measurements in shallow coastal waters. Our theory quantitatively agrees with two previous fertilization experiments in Taylor-Couette chambers and provides a mechanistic understanding of these early experiments. 'Surfing along concentration filaments' could be a paradigm for navigation in complex environments in the presence of turbulent flow.
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