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Published on: July 30, 2011
Identification and characterization of genes differentially expressed in X and Y sperm using suppression subtractive
Xiaoli Chen1, Yang Yue, Yanan He
1The Key Laboratory for Farm Animal Genetic Resources and Utilization of Ministry of Agriculture of China, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agriculture Sciences, Beijing, China.
Abstract:
Differential expression of genes leads to variations in the phenotypes of X and Y sperm, although some differentially expressed gene products are shared through intercellular bridges. Genes differentially expressed in bovine X and Y sperm were identified by a combination of suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH), cDNA microarray, and sequence-homology analysis. Microarray data and Significance Analysis of Microarrays software were used to identify 31 differentially expressed genes, only four of which were previously identified. These genes are involved in fundamental life processes of mature sperm, and may be associated with the differences between X and Y sperm since 27 versus 4 were upregulated in X versus Y sperm, respectively. The levels of expression of seven genes-including the known genes UTY, DPH3, CYTB, and ISCU, and the unknown genes X + Y contig 41, X + Y contig 18, and Y + X contig 16-were validated by quantitative real-time PCR, and some genes were clearly differentially expressed by X and Y sperm, despite the presence of intercellular bridges among spermatids. These results provide a theoretical basis for research on gene expression during sperm development, as well as on sex control at the level of sperm.
