Proteomic Changes Associated With Sperm Fertilizing Ability in Meat-Type Roosters.

Area of Science:

• Animal Science
• Reproductive Biology
• Proteomics

Background:

• Male fertility in chickens, particularly meat-type roosters, exhibits significant variability, complicating breeding programs.
• Sperm proteins are crucial for male fertility due to limited transcription and translation in mature sperm.
• Understanding the molecular basis of fertility requires comprehensive proteomic investigations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify proteins associated with fertility differences in meat-type roosters.
• To compare the sperm proteomes of fertile and subfertile roosters using complementary proteomic techniques.

Main Methods:

• Utilized two label-free quantitative proteomic methods: Intact Cell MALDI-TOF-Mass Spectrometry and GeLC-MS/MS.
• Compared sperm protein content between fertile (fertility >70%) and subfertile (fertility <40%) roosters.
• Analyzed differences in sperm mass motility between fertile and subfertile groups.

Main Results:

• Identified 57 proteins with differential abundance between fertile and subfertile roosters.
• Most identified proteins were novel in their association with fertility in chickens.
• These proteins are involved in flagellar function, mitochondrial activity, sperm maturation, storage, and oocyte-sperm interaction.

Conclusions:

• The study enhances the understanding of chicken sperm biology and male fertility complexity.
• Identified proteins highlight the multifactorial nature of male fertility, involving various cellular functions.
• Suggests that a combination of markers, rather than single in vitro tests, is a more promising approach for predicting male fertility.