Xiao Yanhong, Huang Bo, Chen Sibo, Lin Zhikai, Zhu Zhiying, Lu Yuzhen, Yu Xiao-Qiang, Wen Liang, Hu Qihao
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental Biology and Applied Technology, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Insect Development Regulation and Application Research, Institute of Insect Science and Technology, School of Life Sciences, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.
School of Life Sciences, Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China.
Insect Sci. 2025 Feb;32(1):127-139. doi: 10.1111/1744-7917.13369. Epub 2024 Apr 21.
Spermatogenesis is critical for insect reproduction and the process is regulated by multiple genes. Glycosyltransferases have been shown to participate in the development of Drosophila melanogaster; however, their role in spermatogenesis is still unclear. In this study, we found that α1,4-galactosyltransferase 1 (α4GT1) was expressed at a significantly higher level in the testis than in the ovary of Drosophila. Importantly, the hatching rate was significantly decreased when α4GT1 RNA interference (RNAi) males were crossed with w females, with only a few mature sperm being present in the seminal vesicle of α4GT1 RNAi flies. Immunofluorescence staining further revealed that the individualization complex (IC) in the testes from α4GT1 RNAi flies was scattered and did not move synchronically, compared with the clustered IC observed in the control flies. Terminal deoxyribonucleotide transferase (TdT)-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay showed that apoptosis signals in the sperm bundles of α4GT1 RNAi flies were significantly increased. Moreover, the expression of several individualization-related genes, such as Shrub, Obp44a and Hanabi, was significantly decreased, whereas the expression of several apoptosis-related genes, including Dronc and Drice, was significantly increased in the testes of α4GT1 RNAi flies. Together, these results suggest that α4GT1 may play dual roles in Drosophila spermatogenesis by regulating the sperm individualization process and maintaining the survival of sperm bundles.
精子发生对于昆虫繁殖至关重要，该过程由多个基因调控。糖基转移酶已被证明参与黑腹果蝇的发育；然而，它们在精子发生中的作用仍不清楚。在本研究中，我们发现α1,4-半乳糖基转移酶1（α4GT1）在果蝇睾丸中的表达水平显著高于卵巢。重要的是，当α4GT1 RNA干扰（RNAi）雄性果蝇与w雌性果蝇杂交时，孵化率显著降低，α4GT1 RNAi果蝇的精囊中仅存在少量成熟精子。免疫荧光染色进一步显示，与对照果蝇中观察到的聚集的个体化复合体（IC）相比，α4GT1 RNAi果蝇睾丸中的IC分散且不同步移动。末端脱氧核苷酸转移酶（TdT）介导的dUTP缺口末端标记（TUNEL）分析表明，α4GT1 RNAi果蝇精子束中的凋亡信号显著增加。此外，在α4GT1 RNAi果蝇的睾丸中，几个与个体化相关的基因，如Shrub、Obp44a和Hanabi的表达显著降低，而几个与凋亡相关的基因，包括Dronc和Drice的表达显著增加。总之，这些结果表明α4GT1可能通过调节精子个体化过程和维持精子束的存活在果蝇精子发生中发挥双重作用。
