title: The low expression of Dmrt7 is associated with spermatogenic arrest in cattle-yak.
abstract: Dmrt7 is a member of the DM domain family of genes. Dmrt7 deficiency is also a strong candidate as a cause for male cattle-yak infertility, as it is regarded as essential for male spermatogenesis, between the pachynema and diplonema stages. In our study, the coding region sequence of yak and cattle-yak Dmrt7 was cloned by molecular cloning techniques, and the sequence, conserved domains, functional sites, and secondary and tertiary structures of the Dmrt7-encoded protein were predicted and analyzed using bioinformatics methods. The coding region sequences of the Dmrt7 gene, encoding 370 amino acids, were consistent in yak and cattle-yak. The protein encoded by yak and cattle-yak Dmrt7 contains a DM domain. We detected Dmrt7 mRNA expression in testis, but not in any other tissue. Dmrt7 mRNA and protein expression was significantly higher in testis of cattle and yak than that in cattle-yak (p < 0.01). Histological analysis indicated that seminiferous tubules in male cattle-yak were highly vacuolated and contained primarily Sertoli cells and spermatogonia, while those of cattle and yak contained abundant primary spermatocytes. Male cattle-yak testis contained a significantly larger number of apoptotic cells than those in cattle and yak assessed by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end-labeling (TUNEL) analysis. The accumulation of SCP3-positive spermatocytes indicated the arrest of spermatogenesis at the pachynema stage in the cattle-yak. These results suggest low levels of Dmrt7 expression lead to male sterility in cattle-yak. The molecular function of Dmrt7 and the regulation of its expression warrant need to be examined in future studies.
authors: Institute of Lanzhou Animal Science and Veterinary Pharmaceutics, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou, 730050, Gansu, People's Republic of China, pingyanlz@163.com.
authors: Ping
authors: P
authors: Yan
authors: Lin
authors: L
authors: Xiang
authors: Xian
authors: X
authors: Guo
authors: Peng-Jia
authors: PJ
authors: Bao
authors: Shuai
authors: S
authors: Jin
authors: Xiao-Yun
authors: XY
authors: Wu
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D053713:Azoospermia / Q000151:congenital; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D019295:Computational Biology; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D020287:In Situ Nick-End Labeling / Q000662:veterinary; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000235:genetics / Q000662:veterinary*; D008297:Male; D009845:Oligospermia / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D012671:Seminiferous Tubules / Q000166:cytology; D013045:Species Specificity; D013090:Spermatocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors