Mouse in top panel was conceived in the presence of seminal fluid; mouse in the bottom panel was sired by a mouse that lacked seminal vesicles. PNAS, DOI/10.1073/PNAS.1305609111Male mice that have had their seminal vesicles removed can still father offspring, but their fertility is greatly reduced, according to a study published today (January 27) in PNAS. Moreover, male offspring that are sired by mice lacking seminal vesicles are noticeably fatter and exhibit signs of insulin resistance and other symptoms of metabolic syndrome.
“For a long time, seminal proteins have been sort of ignored, thought to be this passive medium in which the sperm are transferred, used [only] to nourish the sperm and keep the sperm viable,” said Mariana Wolfner, a Drosophila reproductive biologist at Cornell University who did not participate in the research. In recent years, however, work on insects and even some mammals has supported the notion that seminal fluid is doing something more, she added. “This paper is adding to this idea that these proteins are really important in communication between the sexes, [and] in modulating the females’ reproductive physiology to improve the outcome for both the male and the female.”
Sarah Robertson, a professor of reproductive immunology and biomedicine at the University of Adelaide ...
