Abstract
The female chicken, as with other species with internal fertilization, can tolerate the presence of spermatozoa within specialized sperm-storage tubuli (SST) located in the mucosa of the utero-vaginal junction (UVJ) for days or weeks, without eliciting an immune response. To determine if the oviduct alters its gene expression in response to sperm entry, segments from the oviduct (UVJ, uterus, isthmus, magnum and infundibulum) of mated and unmated (control) hens, derived from an advanced inter-cross line between Red Junglefowl and White Leghorn, were explored 24 h after mating using cDNA microarray analysis. Mating shifted the expression of fifteen genes in the UVJ (53.33% immune-modulatory and 20.00% pH-regulatory) and seven genes in the uterus, none of the genes in the latter segment overlapping the former (with the differentially expressed genes themselves being less related to immune-modulatory function). The other oviductal segments did not show any significant changes. These findings suggest sperm deposition causes a shift in expression in the UVJ (containing mucosal SST) and the uterus for genes involved in immune-modulatory and pH-regulatory functions, both relevant for sperm survival in the hen's oviduct.
Highlights
Following natural mating in chicken, a subpopulation of selected spermatozoa is stored for up to several weeks in the sperm-storage tubuli (SST), the primary sperm reservoir located in the mucosa of the utero-vaginal junction (UVJ) segment of the oviduct (Bakst 2011), while the rest of the ejaculate is voided from the vagina
The present study reveals that sperm deposition during natural mating causes relatively rapid changes in the expression of genes involved in immune-modulatory and pH-regulatory functions, both relevant for sperm survival in the reproductive tract of hens
These changes are apparent only in the UVJ containing mucosal SSTs and the uterus. Absence of such significant gene expression shifts in other areas, indicates that the UVJ function requires up- or downregulation of specific genes within a brief period postentry, to warrant the storage of sufficient fertile spermatozoa for fertilization in the primary sperm reservoir
Summary
Following natural mating in chicken, a subpopulation of selected spermatozoa is stored for up to several weeks in the sperm-storage tubuli (SST), the primary sperm reservoir located in the mucosa of the utero-vaginal junction (UVJ) segment of the oviduct (Bakst 2011), while the rest of the ejaculate is voided from the vagina. The SST-stored spermatozoa maintain integrity and potential fertilizing capacity by mechanisms yet unknown. Stored spermatozoa are released from the SST to be present alongside the entire oviduct transported by anti-peristalsis to reach the secondary reservoir in the infundibulum, where fertilization of the ova occurs (Brillard 1993, Bakst 2011, Sasanami et al 2013). Sperm SST-release has been considered a continuous event where aliquots of the stored sperm subpopulation leave the SSTs in relation to various factors, from aquaporin changes in the SST epithelium (Bakst 2011) to ovulation-related progesterone stimuli (Ito et al 2011, Sasanami et al 2013)
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