The Drosophila boule gene is expressed exclusively in the male germline and encodes an RNA binding protein closely related to the mammalian fertility factors encoded by the DAZ (Deleted in Azoospermia) and DAZL (DAZ-like) genes. Mutation of boule blocks both meiotic divisions. Differentiation nonetheless continues, resulting in tetraploid spermatids that fail to mature into sperm. We have found...

DAZ is an RNA-binding protein encoded by a region on the Y chromosome implicated in infertility, and DAZ-like (Dazl) proteins are master regulators of germ line gene expression in all animals. In mice Dazl is only expressed in germ cells and is necessary for meiosis. A dual approach was taken to understand the RNA-binding specificity of the Dazl protein: (i) traditional SELEX and (ii) a novel t...

The DAZ-like (DAZL) gene located on the short arm of autosomal chromosome 3 (3p24), an essential master gene for the premeiotic development of male and female germ cells, is the father of the Y-chromosome DAZ gene cluster and encodes for RNA-binding proteins. Reported instances of positive association of DAZL gene mutations with infertility in men have been found in a Taiwanese population but n...

The AZFc region on the human Y chromosome consists mainly of very long direct and inverted repeats and is prone to rearrangement. Although deletion of the entire AZFc is found only in subfertile men, duplications and deletions of portions of AZFc as well as inversions are quite common and represent major polymorphisms of the Y chromosome. Several methods are available to detect these rearrangem...

Polymorphisms in genes involved in spermatogenesis are considered potential risk factors for male infertility. Recently a polymorphism in the deleted in azoospermia-like (DAZL) gene (T54A) was reported as susceptibility factor to oligo/azoospermia in the Chinese population. DAZL is an autosomal homologue of the Y chromosomal DAZ (deleted in azoospermia) gene cluster and both are considered mast...

The amplification outcomes of two hearing aid prescriptions, NAL-NL1 and Digital Perception Processing (DPP), of nine moderate to moderately severe hearing-impaired adults were compared in the same digital hearing instrument. NAL-NL1 aims at optimizing speech intelligibility while amplifying the speech signal to a normal overall loudness level (Dillon, 1999). DPP focuses on restoring loudness b...

Male infertility is caused by many factors including genetics. Although part of genetic damages are inherited and could be traced in blood leukocytes, but those de novo alterations induced in spermatogenesis are not part of diagnostic work up. De novo alterations might be the cause of many idiopathic conditions of male infertility. The aim of this study was to evaluate DNA damage, sex chromosom...