title: Discovery of predictive biomarkers for litter size in boar spermatozoa.
abstract: Conventional semen analysis has been used for prognosis and diagnosis of male fertility. Although this tool is essential for providing initial quantitative information about semen, it remains a subject of debate. Therefore, development of new methods for the prognosis and diagnosis of male fertility should be seriously considered for animal species of economic importance as well as for humans. In the present study, we applied a comprehensive proteomic approach to identify global protein biomarkers in boar spermatozoa in order to increase the precision of male fertility prognoses and diagnoses. We determined that l-amino acid oxidase, mitochondrial malate dehydrogenase 2, NAD (MDH2), cytosolic 5'-nucleotidase 1B, lysozyme-like protein 4, and calmodulin (CALM) were significantly and abundantly expressed in high-litter size spermatozoa. We also found that equatorin, spermadhesin AWN, triosephosphate isomerase (TPI), Ras-related protein Rab-2A (RAB2A), spermadhesin AQN-3, and NADH dehydrogenase [ubiquinone] iron-sulfur protein 2 (NDUFS2) were significantly and abundantly expressed in low-litter size spermatozoa (>3-fold). Moreover, RAB2A, TPI, and NDUFS2 were negatively correlated with litter size, whereas CALM and MDH2 were positively correlated. This study provides novel biomarkers for the prediction of male fertility. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that shows significantly increased litter size using male fertility biomarkers in a field trial. Moreover, these protein markers may provide new developmental tools for the selection of superior sires as well as for the prognosis and diagnosis of male fertility.
authors.affiliation: From the ‡Department of Animal Science & Technology, Chung-Ang University, Anseong, Gyeonggi-do 456-756, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Woo-Sung
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.affiliation: From the ‡Department of Animal Science & Technology, Chung-Ang University, Anseong, Gyeonggi-do 456-756, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Md Saidur
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Rahman
authors.affiliation: From the ‡Department of Animal Science & Technology, Chung-Ang University, Anseong, Gyeonggi-do 456-756, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: June-Sub
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: From the ‡Department of Animal Science & Technology, Chung-Ang University, Anseong, Gyeonggi-do 456-756, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sung-Jae
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Yoon
authors.affiliation: From the ‡Department of Animal Science & Technology, Chung-Ang University, Anseong, Gyeonggi-do 456-756, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Yoo-Jin
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: From the ‡Department of Animal Science & Technology, Chung-Ang University, Anseong, Gyeonggi-do 456-756, Republic of Korea. mgpang@cau.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Myung-Geol
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Pang
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility / Q000235:genetics*; D015870:Gene Expression; D008098:Litter Size / Q000235:genetics*; D050538:Malate Dehydrogenase (NADP+) / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D058977:Molecular Sequence Annotation; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D034041:Monomeric Clathrin Assembly Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009245:NADH Dehydrogenase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D025941:Protein Interaction Mapping; D055101:Semen Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000737:chemistry / Q000201:enzymology*; D013552:Swine; D014305:Triose-Phosphate Isomerase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020691:rab GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D034041:Monomeric Clathrin Assembly Proteins; D050538:Malate Dehydrogenase (NADP+); D009245:NADH Dehydrogenase; D020691:rab GTP-Binding Proteins; D014305:Triose-Phosphate Isomerase