A fish spermatozoon has a minimalist structure: head, mid-piece and flagellum with the active inner core, called “axoneme”. The axoneme represents a cylindrical scaffold of microtubular doublets arranged around a pair of single microtubules and assorted along the entire length with the dynein-ATPase motors. The mechanisms of wave generation along the flagellum becomes possible due to sliding of microtubules relative to each other and their propagation is a result of a balance between mechanical constraints and intra-flagellar biochemical actors that generate force.
Part of the book: Cytoskeleton