Flagellar adenosine triphosphatase from sea urchin sperm: properties and relation to motility.

Adenosine triphosphatase activated by divalent cations is apparently a component of the motile apparatus in flagella of Arbacia sperm, as judged by the activity of this enzyme in intact flagella, glycerol-extracted flagella, and soluble extracts prepared from flagella. However, the variation in the physical properties and in the amount of enzyme obtained after a variety of treatments suggests that additional components are involved in the motile mechanism. These features distinguish the soluble flagellar enzyme from adenosine triphosphatases of other motile cells.