94% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or good
Learn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish.
Find out more
REVIEW article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Animal Reproduction - Theriogenology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1523491
This article is part of the Research Topic Recent developments in Animal Reproduction: combining research with practice View all 5 articles
Advances in immunological sorting of X and Y chromosome-bearing sperm: From proteome to sex-specific proteins
Provisionally accepted
Linfeng Bai 1
Yue Zhao 1
Yang Zhou 1 Yongli Song 1
Hao Xiao 1 Gaoping Zhao 2
Zhigang Wang 1*
Xihe Li 1*- 1 Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, China
- 2 Inner Mongolia Saikexing Institute of Breeding and Reproductive Biotechnology in Domestic Animal, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China
Sex determination is the developmental assignment that results from genetic factors. The sexual characters were the specific manifestations of male and female individuals under stimulation of sexual hormonal production. The fusion of an oocyte with an X chromosome-bearing sperm will lead to a female (XX), while fusion with a Y chromosome-bearing sperm will develop into a male (XY) in mammals. Sexing technology has been developed to fertilize eggs with sorted sperm, producing offspring of the desired sex. Sperm sorting enables the sex pre-determination of offspring via in vitro fertilization (IVF) or artificial insemination (AI) in domestic animals. Flow cytometric sorting of X and Y sperm is widely considered the most applied method for sperm sorting and has been commercially applied in cattle. However, a non-invasive, immunological method for screening X and Y sperm is considered to be a feasible approach. This review summarizes the current knowledge and techniques of sperm immunological sorting, including the preparation of antibodies, application of immunomodulators, and immunoisolation. Additionally, we focus on identifying sex-specifically expressed proteins in X and Y sperm through proteomic analysis, and verifying the sex-specific proteins using experimental techniques. Furthermore, several housekeeping proteins as loading control were discussed in immunoblotting of sperm proteins. Immunological sorting of X and Y sperm could provide a convenient, cost-effective, and highly efficient technique that can improve economic benefits and achieve an advanced level of sexing technology. This review provides insight into immunological sorting of sperm and the pre-determination of sex in farm animals.
Keywords: Sperm sorting, immunological approach, Sex-specific protein, sexing technology, Spermatozoa proteome
Received: 06 Nov 2024; Accepted: 24 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Bai, Zhao, Zhou, Song, Xiao, Zhao, Wang and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Zhigang Wang, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, China
Xihe Li, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.