{"id":228165,"date":"2026-01-13T09:22:25","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T19:22:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=228165"},"modified":"2026-01-13T09:27:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T19:27:19","slug":"advancing-male-fertility-gene","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2026\/01\/13\/advancing-male-fertility-gene\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> researchers advance study of key male fertility gene"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"monika
Monika Ward holding a mouse model.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

New mouse models to study a key male fertility gene, providing insights that could help scientists understand and eventually treat male infertility, were developed by researchers at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa<\/a>. The study, published in BMC<\/abbr> Genomics<\/abbr><\/em><\/a>, builds on years of research into how this gene functions in male reproductive cells.<\/p>\n

The work, led by Professor Monika Ward of the John A. Burns School of Medicine<\/abbr><\/a> and the Yanagimachi Institute for Biogenesis Research<\/a>, focuses on the Y chromosome gene ZFY<\/abbr>, which is critical for male fertility. In earlier studies<\/a>, the team demonstrated that male mice lacking both copies of Zfy<\/abbr> were completely infertile and showed widespread disruption of genes involved in sperm development and cell survival.<\/p>\n

New tools to track ZFY<\/abbr> proteins<\/h2>\n

In the newly accepted study, the team used CRISPR<\/abbr>–Cas9<\/abbr> genome editing to add molecular “tags” to the two mouse versions of Zfy<\/abbr>, known as Zfy1<\/abbr> and Zfy2<\/abbr>. These tags make it possible to detect, isolate and study the proteins in unprecedented detail.<\/p>\n

Related UH<\/abbr> News<\/em> story: Missing Y gene linked to male infertility<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Using the tagged mouse models, the researchers were able for the first time to identify which male germ cells produce Zfy1<\/abbr> and Zfy2<\/abbr> proteins and at what levels.<\/p>\n

“We now know which male germ cells express which Zfy<\/abbr> proteins, and how strongly,” said Ward.<\/p>\n

Because ZFY<\/abbr> is thought to act as a transcription factor\u2014switching other genes on and off\u2014the new models could help identify which genes it regulates, offering critical insights that may one day guide diagnosis and treatment of male infertility.<\/p>\n

“We have been after the Zfy<\/abbr> genes for a long time! We knew how important Zfy<\/abbr>s are for male fertility for quite a while but were unable to learn how exactly they work,” Ward said. “The new mice represent a much-needed tool to continue the investigations to determine how Zfy<\/abbr> controls spermatogenesis.”<\/p>\n

Read more at JABSOM<\/abbr><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New mouse models allowed scientists to directly track how the gene functions, building on earlier findings that linked its loss to infertility.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":228166,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[454,31,1363,158,9],"class_list":["post-228165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","tag-institute-for-biogenesis-research","tag-john-a-burns-school-of-medicine","tag-manoa-research","tag-publication","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t