An immunological approach of sperm sexing and different methods for identification of X- and Y-chromosome bearing sperm

Abstract

Separation of X- and Y-chromosome bearing sperm has been practiced for selection of desired sex of offspring to increase the profit in livestock industries. At present, fluorescence-activated cell sorter is the only successful method for separation of X- and Y-chromosome bearing sperm. This technology is based on the differences in DNA content between these two types of sperm and has been commercialized for bovine sperm. However, this technology still has problems in terms of high economic cost, sperm damage, and lower pregnancy rates compared to unsorted semen. Therefore, an inexpensive, convenient, and non-invasive approach for sperm sexing would be of benefit to agricultural sector. Within this perspective, immunological sperm sexing method is one of the attractive choices to separate X- and Y-chromosome bearing sperm. This article reviews the current knowledge about immunological approaches, viz., H-Y antigen, sex-specific antigens, and differentially expressed proteins for sperm sexing. Moreover, this review also highlighted the different methods for identification of X- and Y-sperm.

Bovine semen sexing: Sperm membrane proteomics as candidates for immunological selection of X‐ and Y‐chromosome‐bearing sperm

“…Several features allow distinguishing X‐ and Y‐sperm: (a) the DNA content (X‐sperm contains more DNA than Y‐sperm); (b) the size (X‐sperm is larger than Y‐sperm); (c) the charge on the cell's surface (X‐sperm has a negative charge and Y‐sperm has a positive charge) and (iv) the motility pattern (X‐sperm has lower motility than Y‐sperm). The surface antigens are also different between X‐ and Y‐sperm (Cui, 1997; Garner & Seidel, 2008; Yadav et al., 2017). Based on these distinguishing features, several sexing methods have been developed.…”

“…The use of FACS for sex‐sorting provided new opportunities to the study of X‐ and Y‐sperm populations, allowing the investigation of molecular properties that can be used to design new methods of sex selection. Immunological methods have emerged for sexing sperm, based on differences in protein expression of X‐ and Y‐sperm (Katigbak et al., 2019; Yadav et al., 2017). This promising technology is based on the assumption that the genomic differences among X‐ and Y‐sperm might result in protein and functional differences as well, and that the gene product is confined to the sperm carrying that chromosome (Howes et al., 1997).…”

Differences in small noncoding RNAs profile between bull X and Y sperm

“…Sperm carry different sex chromosomes (either an X-or a Y-chromosome), which provide clues for the discovery of other differences between X and Y sperm. Indeed, such differences have been identified in several different types of profiles (Yadav et al, 2017), including protein profiles (Chen et al, 2012;De Canio et al, 2014) and messenger RNA (mRNA) profiles (Chen et al, 2014), by using high-throughput measurement technologies. However, whether there are differences in the profiles of sncRNAs is still unknown.…”

Peer Review #2 of "Differences in small noncoding RNAs profile between bull X and Y sperm (v0.2)"

“…Sperm carry different sex chromosomes (either an X-or a Y-chromosome), which provide clues for the discovery of other differences between X and Y sperm. Indeed, such differences have been identified in several different types of profiles (Yadav et al, 2017), including protein profiles (Chen et al, 2012;De Canio et al, 2014) and messenger RNA (mRNA) profiles (Chen et al, 2014), by using high-throughput measurement technologies. However, whether there is the difference in the profiles of sncRNAs is still unknown.…”