Aquaporins in boar and bull spermatozoa: identification and functional implications
- Autores: Noelia Prieto Martinez
- Directores de la Tesis: Marc Yeste Oliveras (dir. tes.), Sergi Bonet (codir. tes.)
- Lectura: En la Universitat de Girona ( España ) en 2017
- Idioma: español
- Tribunal Calificador de la Tesis: Mercè Durfort i Coll (presid.), Manel López Béjar (secret.), Patricia Grasa (voc.)
- Programa de doctorado: Programa de Doctorado en Tecnología por la Universidad de Girona
- Materias:
- Enlaces
- Tesis en acceso abierto en: TDX
- Resumen
Aquaporins (AQPs) are proteins involved in the transport of water and some other solutes across plasma membranes. The fact that mammalian spermatozoa are highly permeable to water suggests the presence of these proteins. Taking into account that AQPs have been poorly studied in male germ cells, the present Thesis Dissertation is focused on the study of the presence, localisation and function of AQP3, AQP7 and AQP11 in the sperm of two major livestock species (porcine and bovine). On the one hand, this Thesis has demonstrated that these three proteins are found in different regions (head, neck or tail) of the ejaculated sperm in both species. On the other hand, this Dissertation has determined the relationship of the relative abundance of AQP3, AQP7 and AQP11 with sperm cryotolerance and in vitro fertilizing ability of frozen-thawed sperm. Following this, AQP3 and AQP7 have been found to be freezability markers in boar sperm, whereas AQP7 and AQP11 have been indentified to be crucial for bull sperm cryotolerance. Altogether, these results contribute to increase our knowledge about the function of these proteins in mammalian sperm and may also allow the selection of those fresh ejaculates that exhibit higher sperm cryotolerance.
