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Title: PROTEOMIC ANALYSIS OF TURKEY SPERM STORAGE TUBULES

Author
item MCDOUGAL, JANE - 1265-85-00
item Garrett, Wesley
item Long, Julie
item Caperna, Thomas
item Zuelke, Kurt

Submitted to: BARC Poster Day
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/1/2004
Publication Date: 5/1/2004
Citation: McDougal, J.G., Garrett, W.M., Long, J.A., Caperna, T.J., Zuelke, K.A. Proteomic analysis of turkey sperm storage tubules. BARC Poster Day. 2004. Abstract No.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Turkey hens maintain viable, fertile sperm in their sperm storage tubules (SST) for forty-five or more days following a single insemination. However, using current methods and extenders, turkey sperm lose viability within 8-18h when stored as liquid semen. Our long-term objectives are to identify and characterize differentially expressed proteins that may underlie this prolonged sperm storage and then use this information to develop new methods for storing liquid turkey semen. The objective of the present study was to develop and apply proteomic analyses to characterize and compare proteins expressed in turkey SST obtained from hens that were artificially inseminated (AI) with extended semen (sperm AI) and extender alone (control AI). SSTs were recovered from turkeys 48h after AI and immediately processed for protein extraction. Protein extracts were separated via two dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and then visualized with colloidal Coomassie staining. Protein spots were collected from each gel, partially digested with Trypsin and then identified by MALDI-Tof and/or Ion Trap mass spectroscopy. We identified thirty-eight proteins that were present in both sperm and control AI turkey SSTs, three that were present only in control AI SSTs, and four that were present only in sperm AI SSTs. These data represent the first large-scale proteomic analysis of sperm storage mechanisms in an avian livestock species. Despite the lack of publicly available gene and protein sequence data from turkeys, we identified over forty proteins, and have thus demonstrated the potential applicability of these proteomic procedures to analyze and compare protein expression in sperm and control AI turkey SSTs. Future work will confirm the identity and tissue localization of differentially expressed proteins that may function in maintaining sperm viability and fertility during prolonged storage in the SST.