Cytochrome-catalysis of the movements of bracken spermatozoids
- 28 June 1951
- journal article
- Published by The Royal Society in Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. B. Biological Sciences
- Vol. 138 (891) , 272-277
- https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.1951.0022
Abstract
The movements of bracken spermatozoids are photo-reversibly inhibited by carbon monoxide. At 20° C the mean speed of a sperm suspension in the presence of 94% CO in O2was 51μ/sec, in green light, the wave-length of which is outside the region of photochemical absorption by CO-cytochrome oxidase. The same suspension had a mean speed of 95μ/sec. in white light. Spermatozoids that have been rendered motionless by CO in green light, which takes about 5 min., can be induced to move by illuminating them with white light. A large percentage of the spermatozoids are irreversibly damaged if the CO in green light treatment is continued long enough to stop, rather than slow up, movement.Keywords
This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit:
- Effect of Low Temperature on the Absorption Spectra of Hæmoproteins; with Observations on the Absorption Spectrum of OxygenNature, 1949
- Metabolism of SemenPublished by Wiley ,1949