Acta Veterinaria et Zootechnica Sinica ›› 2023, Vol. 54 ›› Issue (1): 4-11.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2023.01.001

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Research Progress on Epididymis Function and Its Regulatory Mechanism on Post-testicular Sperm Maturation in Poultry

HAN Xintong1, MA Tenghe1,2*, LI Yunlei3, FAN Shijie4, CHEN Jilan3, SUN Yanyan3*   

  1. 1. College of Life Sciences and Food Engineering, Hebei University of Engineering, Handan 056000, China;
    2. College of Medicine, Hebei University of Engineering, Handan 056000, China;
    3. Key Laboratory of Animal(Poultry) Genetics Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China;
    4. Beijing Huadu Yukou Poultry Industry Co. Ltd., Beijing 101206, China
  • Received:2022-08-08 Online:2023-01-23 Published:2023-01-17

Abstract: Spermatozoa that produced in the testis still need to undergo chemical modification, morphological and functional changes during epididymal transition to gain the motility and fertility capacity, which is named sperm maturation. Compared with mammals, the epididymis of poultry is somewhat degenerated. In recent years, more studies have proven that the epididymis has a certain regulatory effect on sperm maturation. In the livestock and poultry breeding and propagation system, male semen quality directly affects the mating ratio and related with the propagation efficiency and benefit.Therefore, exploring the regulatory mechanism underlying sperm function and semen quality has important application value for improving male sterility, establishing breeding methods and technique for improved reproduction performance. This article reviews the research progress of epididymis function and the mechanism of post-testicular sperm maturation in poultry, aiming at inspiring future research on this topic.

Key words: poultry, epididymis, sperm maturation

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