Abstract
The sperm quality is a vital economical requisite of poultry production. Our previous study found non-thermal dielectric barrier discharge plasma exposure on fertilized eggs could increase the chicken growth and the male reproduction. However, it is unclear how plasma treatment regulates the reproductive capacity in male chickens. In this study, we used the optimal plasma treatment condition (2.81 W for 2 min) which has been applied on 3.5-day-incubated fertilized eggs in the previous work and investigated the reproductive performance in male chickens aged at 20 and 40 weeks. The results showed that plasma exposure increased sperm count, motility, fertility rate, and fertilization period of male chickens. The sperm quality-promoting effect of plasma treatment was regulated by the significant improvements of adenosine triphosphate production and testosterone level, and by the modulation of reactive oxygen species balance and adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase and mammalian target of rapamycin pathway in the spermatozoa. Additionally, the plasma effect suggested that DNA demethylation and microRNA differential expression (a total number of 39 microRNAs were up-regulated whereas 53 microRNAs down-regulated in the testis) regulated the increases of adenosine triphosphate synthesis and testosterone level for promoting the chicken sperm quality. This finding might be beneficial to elevate the fertilization rate and embryo quality for the next generation in poultry breeding.
Highlights
Fertility is a trait of major interest in the poultry industry because it determines the profitability of production
In order to study whether optimal plasma treatment can prolong the fertilization period of male chickens, we evaluated the sperm quality of male chickens aged at 40 weeks
Plasma treatment increased the mRNA expression of steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (STAR), cytochrome P450 family 11 subfamily A member 1 (CYP11A1), cytochrome P450 family 17 subfamily A member 1 (CYP17A1), hydroxysteroid 17-beta dehydrogenase 3 (HSD17B3), and androgen receptor (AR) in the testis of chickens aged at 40 weeks (Fig. 1c)
Summary
Fertility is a trait of major interest in the poultry industry because it determines the profitability of production. The intermediate piece of chicken sperm contains numerous mitochondria, which provide the energy for flagellum movement to reach the fertilization site in the infundibulum[3] These biological features infer an important role of energetic metabolism in sperm to ensure the fertilizing ability of male chickens. Genes that improve the development and differentiation are generally hypomethylated in the spermatozoa[16], whereas hypermethylation results in spermatogenesis impairment and sperm quality defect[18]. These findings prompt that sperm quality may be influenced by DNA methylation level following the non-thermal DBD plasma exposure. Some candidate genes may be doubly regulated by DNA methylation and miRNAs with differential expression levels in the plasma-treated male chickens
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