Fertilization and blastoderm development of quail oocytes after intracytoplasmic injection of chicken sperm bearing the W chromosome.
Our previous study demonstrated that elongated spermatids and sperm carrying the female-specific W-chromosome of the sex-reversed domestic fowl can activate the mouse oocyte, but whether they can fertilize the avian oocyte and lead to a developing zygote remains undetermined. A single sperm isolated from the semen and testis of normal rooster and from a testis of sex-reversed hen was microinjected into a quail oocyte and cultured for 20 to 24 h. Blastoderms were fixed, cleaved, nuclei stained by 4',6'-diamidino-2-phenylin-dole, and developmental stages were assessed. In the normal rooster group, ejaculated and testicular sperm induced blastodermal development in 22.6 and 20% of the quail oocytes, respectively. The developmental stages ranged from IV to VII. In the sex-reversal group, 20% of injected testicular sperm induced blastodermal development. The blastodermal stages varied from stage III to VI. Blastoderms after 4',6'-diamidino-2-phenylindole staining were assayed by PCR to identify the W chromosome of either chicken sperm or quail oocyte. The PCR assay results showed that 2 out of 9 developed blastoderms microinjected with sperm of sex-reversed hen were identified containing the female-specific W chromosome derived from sex-reversed hen. From these results, it is concluded that chicken sperm bearing the W chromosome possess fertilizing ability and can function to stimulate blastoderm development similar to that of normal chicken sperm carrying the Z chromosome.
Takagi
S
S
Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Aichi 464-8601, Japan.
Ono
T
T
Tsukada
A
A
Atsumi
Y
Y
Mizushima
S
S
Saito
N
N
Shimada
K
K
D000818:Animals; D001756:Blastoderm / Q000502:physiology*; D002645:Chickens; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian; D005260:Female; D005306:Fertilization; D008297:Male; D009865:Oocytes / Q000502:physiology*; D011784:Quail / Q000196:embryology / Q000502:physiology*; D012730:Sex Chromosomes / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D020554:Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic / Q000662:veterinary*; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000502:physiology*