Abouhamzeh Beheshteh, Youssefi Reza, Akbarinejad Vahid, Mirsadeghi Ehsan
Department of Anatomical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Department of Theriogenology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
Vet Res Forum. 2020 Fall;11(4):319-323. doi: 10.30466/vrf.2018.92060.2227. Epub 2020 Dec 15.
Several studies have indicated that feeding female animal with fatty acids could result in alteration of offspring sex ratio; however, there is little information available regarding the effect of feeding male animal with fatty acids on sex ratio of offspring. The aim of current study was to investigate the effect of paternal feeding with n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) on sperm characteristics and sex ratio of offspring in mice. Male mice received 2.50% of palm oil (control), fish oil (n-3 PUFAs) or sunflower oil (n-6 PUFAs) for two months. Sperm kinematics and viability were assessed using computer-assisted sperm analyzer and eosin-Y staining, respectively. Additionally, female mice were randomly introduced to males of three experimental groups to determine reproductive parameters including litter size, conception rate and sex ratio. Fish oil enhanced sperm concentration, motility and viability, whereas sunflower oil decreased sperm concentration. Nevertheless, progressive motility, velocity, linearity and straightness of sperms were not affected by source of fatty acids. Although supplementation with fish oil resulted in male-biased sex ratio, palm and sunflower oils did not impact sex ratio. Besides, source of fatty acids failed to influence conception rate and litter size. In conclusion, the present study provided evidence for the impact of paternal fish oil consumption on sex ratio of offspring for the first time. Moreover, it showed beneficial effect of n-3 PUFAs and adverse effects of n-6 PUFAs on seminal parameters.
多项研究表明，用脂肪酸喂养雌性动物会导致后代性别比例改变；然而，关于用脂肪酸喂养雄性动物对后代性别比例的影响，目前几乎没有相关信息。本研究的目的是调查父本摄入n-3和n-6多不饱和脂肪酸（PUFAs）对小鼠精子特征和后代性别比例的影响。雄性小鼠连续两个月摄入2.50%的棕榈油（对照）、鱼油（n-3 PUFAs）或葵花籽油（n-6 PUFAs）。分别使用计算机辅助精子分析仪和伊红-Y染色评估精子运动学和活力。此外，将雌性小鼠随机与三个实验组的雄性小鼠交配，以确定包括产仔数、受孕率和性别比例在内的生殖参数。鱼油提高了精子浓度、活力和存活率，而葵花籽油降低了精子浓度。然而，精子的前向运动、速度、直线性和直线度不受脂肪酸来源的影响。虽然补充鱼油导致后代性别比例偏向雄性，但棕榈油和葵花籽油对性别比例没有影响。此外，脂肪酸来源未能影响受孕率和产仔数。总之，本研究首次为父本摄入鱼油对后代性别比例的影响提供了证据。此外，它还显示了n-3 PUFAs的有益作用和n-6 PUFAs对精液参数的不利影响。
