Genetic isolation, endogamy cause of infertility in Indian

Genetic isolation and endogamy, which is widespread among the Indian population, could be a major cause of infertility in the country's men, a study by the city-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) said.

According to CCMB, approximately one out of every seven couples is infertile worldwide, of which the male factors account for about 50 per cent of the cases.

Several factors are known to cause male infertility including complete absence of sperm, low sperm production and motility, blockages that prevent sperm delivery due to illnesses and injuries, chronic health problems, lifestyle choices while genetic factors play a major role in most of these cases. A team of scientists at CCMB led by Chief Scientist K Thangaraj has been studying the genetic causes of male infertility for the last two decades, a release from the Centre said.

"Y chromosome consists of several genes that are responsible for production of sperms, i.e. spermatogenesis. Deletions of such genes are the most common causes of severe diseases of testes and spermatogenic defects leading to male infertility.

We have earlier identified that the large deletion of Y chromosome, which consists of several genes, is responsible for male infertility in 8.5 per cent of the cases," Thangaraj noted.

"In the present study, we have studied the micro to macro deletions on the Y chromosome and the molecular mechanisms behind the deletion events," said Thangaraj, who is the senior author of the finding, which was published online on April 18 in 'Scientific Reports.'