Hydrodynamics of the double-wave structure of insect spermatozoa flagella

Abstract

In addition to conventional planar and helical flagellar waves, insect sperm flagella have also been observed to display a double-wave structure characterized by the presence of two super-imposed helical waves. In this paper, we present a hydrodynamic investigation of the locomotion of insect spermatozoa exhibiting the double-wave structure, idealized here as superhelical waves. Resolving the hydrodynamic interactions with a non-local slender body theory, we predict the swimming kinematics of these superhelical swimmers based on experimentally collected geometric and kinematic data. Our consideration provides insight into the relative contributions of the major and minor helical waves to swimming; namely, propulsion is owing primarily to the minor wave, with negligible contribution from the major wave. We also explore the dependence of the propulsion speed on geometric and kinematic parameters, revealing counterintuitive results, particularly for the case when the minor and major helical structures are of opposite chirality. © 2012 The Royal Society.