"Infertility affects about 15 percent of couples around the world. A couple's fertility depends on both the female's and male's ability to reproduce, which relies on thousands of genes working properly. In the male mouse, more than 1,000 genes are predominantly expressed in the testis, but their particular functions in reproduction are still a mystery.
In a report published in the Proceedings of the New York Academy of Sciences, researchers from Baylor College of Medicine, Osaka University, University of Oulu and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute have discovered that 54 of the mouse testis-enriched genes, that also are expressed in humans, are not necessary for male fertility.
"Infertility is a serious condition that affects approximately 10 percent of men who are attempting to sire offspring, and many of the genes responsible for infertility in men remain unknown," said co-corresponding author Dr. Martin M. Matzuk, Stuart A. Wallace chair, Robert L. Moody, Sr. chair, professor of pathology & immunology and director of the Center for Drug Discovery at Baylor.
Knowing which genes are required for male fertility is the first step toward better understanding the genetic changes that lead to male infertility and to design strategies to overcome them. At the same time, knowing which genes affect fertility would help design male contraceptive drugs, which is of increasing interest given the projections of the world's population reaching 9 billion by 2050..."
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