Novel SNPs in heat shock protein 70 gene and their association with sperm quality traits of Boer goats and Boer crosses

Abstract

The semen quality of bucks affects the reproduction performance of the herd and is influenced by genetic and non-genetic factors. Heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) is considered as an important gene affecting semen quality traits. The objectives of this study are to find single nucleotide polymorphisms in HSP70 coding region and their association with semen quality traits on Boer and Boer cross bucks. DNA isolated from 53 goats (36 pure South African Boer and 17 Boer crosses) was subjected to PCR amplification of the exon 1 region of the caprine HSP70 gene. Single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) was used to detect polymorphisms and the variant DNA fragments were sequenced. Two synonymous SNPs (74A>C (ss836187517) and 191C>G (ss836187518)) were detected. Qualities of fresh and post-thaw semen were evaluated for sperm concentration, semen volume, sperm motility and velocity traits, live sperm percentage, and abnormal sperm rate. The C allele of ss836187517 and G allele of ss836187518 were at higher frequencies in both the breeds. The C allele of ss836187517 appeared to be the favorable allele for semen concentration, progressive motility of fresh semen, and motility and sperm lateral head displacement of post-thaw semen. A negative overdominance was observed for ss836187517 alleles on velocity traits of post-thaw semen. The C allele of ss836187518 was favorable for sperm concentration and progressive motility. Results herein suggest that the SNPs in HSP70 may affect on semen quality in tropical regions and specially on the potential of semen for freezing.

Sperm Cryodamage in Ruminants: Understanding the Molecular Changes Induced by the Cryopreservation Process to Optimize Sperm Quality

“…Moreover, a better characterization of all these proteins associated with sperm freezability differences would also aid in detecting proteins with a cryoprotective effect that could be incorporated into the freezing medium for enhancing sperm cryopreservation outcomes. Apart from variations in protein content, single nucleotide polymorphisms in different genes (e.g., HSP70 in buck sperm, PRNT in ram sperm and CFTR in bull sperm) have been correlated with inter-individual differences in sperm freezability [102][103][104]. Whether these genetic variations are the reason for the different protein profile of good and bad freezers still need to be elucidated.…”

Recent Advances in Boar Sperm Cryopreservation: State of the Art and Current Perspectives

“…In addition to this, a landmark paper demonstrated that genomic differences existed between good and poor freezers in the sequences of polymorphism restriction fragments of 16 candidate genetic markers (Thurston et al 2002). This does not seem an exception for pigs, as a single-nucleotide polymorphism in the position 191 of HSP70, specifically C>G, has been found to provide better sperm quality at post-thawing in goats (Nikbin et al 2014).…”

“…This does not seem an exception for pigs, as a single‐nucleotide polymorphism in the position 191 of HSP70, specifically C>G, has been found to provide better sperm quality at post‐thawing in goats (Nikbin et al. ).…”

Metformin Improves Quality of Post-Thaw Canine Semen

“…The heat shock protein 70 (hsp70), a heat shock protein ensures properly protein folding to fulfill their physiological functions, has been focused by several teams working on the goat, bull, boar, and fish semen and used it as a marker of good semen quality [57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64]. Hsp70 has been described to possess a protective effect on various types of injuries and some activities involved the Sirtuin/AMPK pathway [65].…”