摘要
Sperm are traditionally viewed as transcriptionally and translationally silent cells. However, observations that components of the cellular machinery of gene expression are maintained in ejaculated sperm are increasingly cited as challenges to this fundamental assumption. Here, we critically evaluate these arguments and present three lines of evidence from both model and non-model systems that collectively raise the question of whether ejaculated sperm may be capable of active gene expression. First, and critical for arguments surrounding the possibility of differential gene expression, we review recent evidence that spermatozoa may retain the capacity to transcribe and translate their genomes. Second, we highlight how sperm cells can exhibit differential transcript quantities across different post-ejaculation environments. Third, we ask whether the accumulating evidence of remarkable phenotypic plasticity in post-ejaculatory sperm phenotypes could be mechanistically underpinned by changes in sperm gene expression. While these lines of evidence are indirect and do not definitively show transcription of sperm genomes, we highlight how emerging technologies may enable us to test this hypothesis explicitly. Our review advocates for progress in this field and highlights several important evolutionary, ecological and practical implications that will probably transcend disciplines to the clinical and applied reproductive sectors.
摘要译文
精子传统上被视为转录和翻译沉默细胞。 然而，在射精的精子中维持基因表达的细胞机制组分的观察结果被越来越多地引用为对这一基本假设的挑战。 在此，我们对这些论点进行了批判性评估，并提供了来自模型和非模型系统的三条证据线，这些证据共同提出了射精精子是否能够进行活性基因表达的问题。 首先，我们回顾了最近关于精子可能保留转录和翻译其基因组能力的证据。 其次，我们强调精细胞如何在不同的射精后环境中表现出差异性转录物数量。 第三，我们问，精子基因表达的变化是否能从机制上支持射精后精子表型的显著表型可塑性的累积证据。 虽然这些证据是间接的，并且不能明确地显示精子基因组的转录，但我们强调新兴技术如何使我们能够明确地检验这一假设。 我们的综述提倡在这一领域取得进展，并强调了几个重要的进化、生态和实践意义，这些意义可能超越临床和应用生殖领域的学科。
Rowan A. Lymbery; Francisco Garcia-Gonzalez;Jonathan P. Evans. Silent cells? Potential for context-dependent gene expression in mature sperm[J]. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences, 2025,292(2038)