The characteristics of proteome and metabolome associated with contrasting sperm motility in goat seminal plasma

Abstract

Sperm motility is an index tightly associated with male fertility. A close relationship between seminal plasma and sperm motility has been confirmed. This study was to assess the protein and metabolite profiles of seminal plasma obtained from adult goats with high or low sperm motility using the proteomic and metabolomic strategies. In total, 2098 proteins were found. 449 differentially abundant proteins (DAPs) were identified, and 175 DAPs were enriched in the high motility group. The obtained DAPs primarily exist in cytoplasma and extra-cellular portion. The Gene Ontology enrichment analysis demonstrated the main functional roles of these DAPs in regulating biological process, metabolic process of organic substances, cellular-metabolic process, primary-metabolic process, metabolic process of nitrogen compounds, etc. Additionally, the Kyoto-Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis revealed that these DAPs were primarily involved in phosphatidylinositol signaling system, salivary secretion, proteasome, apoptosis, mitophagy-animal, etc. Aided by the parallel reaction monitoring technology, the abundance changing pattern of 19 selected DAPs was consistent with that of the corresponding proteins obtained by TMT. A total of 4603 metabolites were identified in seminal plasma. 1857 differential metabolites were found between the high motility group and the low motility group, and 999 metabolites were up-regulated in the high motility group. The KEGG analysis demonstrated the primary involvement of the differential metabolites in metabolic and synthetic activities. In conclusion, we first established the proteome and metabolome databank of goat seminal plasma, detecting some proteins and metabolites which may affect sperm motility. This study will be valuable for understanding mechanisms leading to poor sperm motility.

A new perspective on semen quality of aged male: The characteristics of metabolomics and proteomics

“…Semen reportedly contains many metabolites including nucleosides, lipids, monosaccharides, amino acids, minerals and electrolytes which are essential in regulating the motility and fertilization of sperm ( 21 ). As an easily accessible noninvasive material, semen provides a quick and objective assessment of dysregulated metabolism, suggesting it hold much promise as a new biomarker to predict fertility in advanced-aged males ( 22 ).…”

Age-Dependent Variations in Functional Quality and Proteomic Characteristics of Canine (Canis lupus familiaris) Epididymal Spermatozoa

“…Metal complexes of porphyrins play important biological roles. A porphyrin- and chlorophyll-metabolism-enriched pathway was found in goat seminal plasma [ 91 ]. However, little is known about porphyrin metabolism in canine epididymal sperm.…”

A comparative proteomic study of high and low semen quality seminal plasma in drakes

“…Furthermore, 55 DEPs were identified in the seminal plasma between the HQS-vs-LQS. Recently, proteomic studies in mammals and poultry seminal plasma have identified some important proteins associated with the semen quality ( Gaitskell-Phillips et al, 2021 ; Jia et al, 2021 ; Słowińska et al, 2021 ). These results indicated that the seminal plasma proteins play a major role in regulating semen quality of drakes.…”