Ushigome Natsuki, Miyashita Meina, Ito Daiyu, Wakayama Sayaka, Wakayama Teruhiko
Faculty of Life and Environmental Science, University of Yamanashi, Yamanashi, 400-8510, Japan.
Advanced Biotechnology Center, University of Yamanashi, Yamanashi, 400-8510, Japan.
Sci Rep. 2025 Aug 23;15(1):30994. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-16635-9.
Although freeze-dried (FD) sperm can be stored at room temperature, making it cheaper and safer to store and transport, freeze-drying can damage the sperm's DNA, which can decrease the birth rate compared to frozen sperm. In this study, we examined whether adding monosodium glutamate (MSG), a compound used to dry and preserve yeast, to the drying medium could improve the quality of mouse FD sperm. FD sperm stored using MSG showed lower morphological and DNA damage, and the birth rate of embryos fertilized using those sperm improved to a similar level (50%) to that obtained with frozen-thawed sperm. The offspring showed normal growth and reproductive performance. Similar results were obtained for embryos derived from other mouse strains, even using FD sperm stored for 3 months at room temperature. These results suggest that MSG can protect not only microorganisms but also the DNA of mammalian FD sperm and improve the birth rate to a practical level. This method is not only inexpensive and safer than cryopreservation using liquid nitrogen but has expansion potential to maintain a large number of genetically modified mouse strains.
尽管冻干精子可以在室温下储存，使其储存和运输更便宜、更安全，但冻干会损害精子的DNA，与冷冻精子相比，这可能会降低出生率。在本研究中，我们研究了在干燥培养基中添加用于干燥和保存酵母的化合物味精（MSG）是否可以提高小鼠冻干精子的质量。使用味精储存的冻干精子显示出较低的形态和DNA损伤，并且使用这些精子受精的胚胎的出生率提高到与冻融精子相似的水平（50%）。后代表现出正常的生长和繁殖性能。对于来自其他小鼠品系的胚胎，即使使用在室温下储存3个月的冻干精子，也获得了类似的结果。这些结果表明，味精不仅可以保护微生物，还可以保护哺乳动物冻干精子的DNA，并将出生率提高到实际水平。这种方法不仅比使用液氮的冷冻保存便宜、更安全，而且具有维持大量转基因小鼠品系的扩展潜力。
