Department of Biology, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB R3B 2E9, Canada.
Cells. 2021 Feb 1;10(2):289. doi: 10.3390/cells10020289.
In , male reproductive fitness can be affected by any number of processes, ranging from development of gametes, transfer to and storage of mature sperm within the female sperm storage organs, and utilization of sperm for fertilization. We have previously identified the 89B cytogenetic map position of as a hub for genes that effect male paternity success when disturbed. Here, we used RNA interference to test 11 genes that are highly expressed in the testes and located within the 89B region for their role in sperm competition and male fecundity when their expression is perturbed. Testes-specific knockdown (KD) of and resulted in complete sterility, whereas KD of , and , showed a breakdown in sperm competitive success when second to mate (P2 < 0.5) and reduced fecundity in single matings. The low fecundity of KD is explained by a significant reduction in the amount of mature sperm produced. KD of and CG31287 does not affect sperm production, sperm transfer into the female bursa or storage within 30 min after mating. Instead, a significant reduction of sperm in female storage is observed 24 h after mating. Egg hatchability 24 h after mating is also drastically reduced for females mated to or KD males, and this reduction parallels the decrease in fecundity. We show that normal germ-line expression of and is needed for effective sperm usage and egg fertilization.
在雄性生殖中，生育能力可能受到多种过程的影响，从配子的发育、成熟精子在雌性精子储存器官中的转移和储存，到精子用于受精。我们之前已经确定了 89B 染色体图谱位置是影响雄性父权成功的基因的枢纽，当这些基因受到干扰时。在这里，我们使用 RNA 干扰来测试 11 个在睾丸中高度表达且位于 89B 区域内的基因，以测试它们在精子竞争和雄性生育力中的作用，当它们的表达受到干扰时。 和 的睾丸特异性敲低 (KD) 导致完全不育，而 KD 的 、 和 显示出第二次交配时（P2 < 0.5）精子竞争成功的崩溃和单交配时生育力降低。 KD 的低生育力可以通过成熟精子产生量的显著减少来解释。KD 的 和 CG31287 不影响精子的产生、精子向雌性囊中转移或交配后 30 分钟内的储存。相反，在交配后 24 小时观察到雌性储存中的精子数量显著减少。交配后 24 小时的卵孵化率也因与 KD 男性交配的雌性急剧下降，并且这种减少与生育力的下降平行。我们表明，正常的生殖系表达 和 对于有效利用精子和卵子受精是必要的。
