Original Article

Meiotic studies in an azoospermic boar carrying a Y;14 translocation
A. Pinton^a, I. Raymond Letron^b, H.M. Berland^a, N. Bonnet^a, A. Calgaro^a, A. Garnier-Bonnet^a, M. Yerle^a, A. Ducos<sup>a

a</sup>UMR 444 INRA-ENVT, Génétique Cellulaire, and
^bLaboratoire Histo-Pathologie ENVT, Toulouse (France)

Address of Corresponding Author

Cytogenet Genome Res 2008;120:106-111 (DOI: 10.1159/000118747)

  Abstract.

A reciprocal translocation between the q arm of the Y chromosome and the q arm of chromosome 14 was identified in a young, phenotypically normal boar presenting azoospermia. Testicular biopsies were analyzed by classical histological and immunolocalization techniques, and by fluorescence in situ hybridization. Meiotic pairing analysis of 85 pachytene spreads showed the presence of an open structure corresponding to a quadrivalent formed by chromosomes 14, X, and the derivative chromosomes 14 and Y in 84.7% of the cases. In the remaining cases (15.3%), a 'trivalent plus univalent' configuration was observed. Immunolocalization of H2AX revealed the presence of this modified histone in the chromatin domains of unsynapsed segments (centromeric region of chromosome 14) and spreading of the H2AX signal from the XY body throughout chromosome 14 in 7.05% of the cells analyzed. The potential causes of the observed infertility, i.e. activation of meiotic checkpoints and/or silencing of genes necessary for the progression of meiosis, are discussed.

Copyright © 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel

  Author Contacts

Request reprints from Dr. Alain Pinton
UMR 444 INRA-ENVT Génétique Cellulaire
Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse
BP 87614, 23 chemin des Capelles
FR-31076 Toulouse Cedex 3 (France)
telephone: +33 5 61 193275; fax: +33 5 61 193924
e-mail: a.pinton@envt.fr

  Article Information

Accepted in revised form for publication by M. Schmid,: 25 October 2007.
Published online: April 30, 2008
Number of Print Pages : 6
Number of Figures : 6, Number of Tables : 0, Number of References : 28