VITORINO CARVALHO, Anais, SOLER, Laura, THÉLIE, Aurore, GRASSEAU, Isabelle, CORDEIRO, Luiz, TOMAS, Daniel, TEIXEIRA-GOMES, Ana-Paula, LABAS, Valérie, BLESBLOIS, Elisabeth, Physiologie de la reproduction et des comportements [Nouzilly] (PRC), Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Biosynthèse & Toxicité des Mycotoxines (ToxAlim-BioToMyc), ToxAlim (ToxAlim), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse (ENVT), Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Ecole d'Ingénieurs de Purpan (INPT - EI Purpan), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Plate-forme Phénotypage par imagerie in/ex vivo de l'Animal à la Molécule (Plate-forme PIXANIM), Université de Tours-Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire de Tours (CHRU TOURS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Infectiologie et Santé Publique (UMR ISP), Université de Tours-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), INRAE, ANR-11-INBS-0003,CRB-Anim,Réseau de Centres de Ressources Biologiques pour les animaux domestiques(2011), Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Université de Tours (UT)-Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire de Tours (CHRU Tours)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), and Université de Tours (UT)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)
International audience; The molecular basis of male fertility remains unclear, especially in chickens, where decades of genetic selection increased male fertility variability as a side effect. As transcription and translation are highly limited in sperm, proteins are key molecules defining their functionality, making proteomic approaches one of the most adequate methods to investigate sperm capacity. In this context, it is interesting to combine complementary proteomic approaches to maximize the identification of proteins related to sperm-fertilizing ability. In the present study, we aimed at identifying proteins related to fertility in meat-type roosters, showing fertility variability. Fertile roosters (fertility rates higher than 70% after artificial insemination) differed from subfertile roosters (fertility rates lower than 40%) in their sperm mass motility. Fertile and subfertile sperm protein contents were compared using two complementary label-free quantitative proteomic methods: Intact Cell MALDI-TOF-Mass Spectrometry and GeLC-MS/MS. Combining the two strategies, 57 proteins were identified as differentially abundant. Most of them were described for the first time as differentially abundant according to fertility in this species. These proteins were involved in various molecular pathways including flagellum integrity and movement, mitochondrial functions, sperm maturation, and storage in female tract as well as oocyte–sperm interaction. Collectively, our data improved our understanding of chicken sperm biology by revealing new actors involved in the complexity of male fertility that depends on multiple cell functions to reach optimal rates. This explains the inability of reductionist in vitro fertility testing in predicting male fertility and suggests that the use of a combination of markers is a promising approach.