Expression of fertility genes in testicular tissue of aged broiler roosters under the influence of serine amino acid and dietary choline supplementation

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Msc student of Animal genetic and Breeding, Faculty of Animal Science and Food Technology, Agricultural sciences and Natural Resources University of Khuzestan

2 Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Animal science and Food Technology, Agricultural Science and Natural Resources University of Khuzestan, Mollasani, Iran.

3 Assistant Professor, Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Animal science and Food Technology, Agricultural Science and Natural Resources University of Khuzestan

4 Ph. D graduate of Animal genetic and Breeding, Faculty of Animal Science and Food Technology, Agricultural sciences and Natural Resources University of Khuzestan

Abstract

Objective: Oxidative and membrane damage reduce the fertility, motility, and quality of the sperm with increasing age. Changes such as lowered phosphatidylcholine and increased phosphatidylserine weaken the membrane structure and the health of the sperm. Supplementation with choline and serine in the diet can increase the resistance of the sperm membrane to oxidative damage and increase the fertility and health of aging roosters. The StAR and PVRL3 genes, which are critical in sperm development, function, and sex hormone production, are among the genes targeted by this research to establish the effect these supplements have on the improvement of fertility.
Materials and methods: This Study was conducted on 36 aged Ross 308 breeder cockerels for 10 weeks. The cockerels were randomly allocated into six treatment groups: 1) basal diet containing 0% serine and 0% choline, 2) 0% serine and 470 mg/kg supplementation of choline, 3) 0.15% serine without choline supplementation, 4) 0.15% serine with 470 mg/kg supplementation of choline, 5) 0.3% serine without choline supplementation, and 6) 0.3% serine with 470 mg/kg supplementation of choline. Four cocks from each group were killed at the end of the trial, and testicular tissue samples were collected and preserved in –80°C. The relative expression of the StAR and PVRL3 genes was identified using real-time PCR and was compared with the reference gene β-actin after normalization.
Results: The results of this study showed that serine supplementation in the diet of roosters greatly reduced PVRL3 gene expression and greatly enhanced the StAR gene expression (P<0.05). Supplementation with choline elevated expression of both genes greatly (P<0.05). Although the effect of serine and choline in combination on the expression of the StAR gene was not significant (P>0.05), combined supplementation always had a significant enhancement of StAR expression (P<0.05). Additionally, simultaneous addition of 0.15% and 0.3% serine along with 470 mg/kg choline caused a significant decrease in PVRL3 expression (P<0.05), indicating that choline could not prevent the serine-induced reduction in PVRL3 gene expression.
Conclusions: Supplementation with choline and serine significantly enhances fertility in aging cocks. Choline increases sperm membrane structure and mitochondrial ATP yield, and serine sustains glutathione production that keeps sperm away from oxidative stress. Both enhance testicular function and overall reproductive performance.

Keywords

References

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Agricultural Biotechnology Journal
Volume 18, Issue 4
August 2026
Pages 45-64

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