Deficiencies in sperm function are usually the result of spermatogenic defects. Spermatogenesis is a biologically complex and essential process during which spermatogonia undergo meiotic recombination, reduction of the genome to a haploid state, and extensive cellular modifications that result in a motile cell capable of traversing the female reproductive tract, withstanding various potential assaults to viability, and finally successfully fertilizing a mature oocyte to give rise to an embryo. Defects in any step of spermatogenesis or spermatogenesis can lead to male infertility, a disease that affects approximately 5-7% of the population.
Spermiogenesis and Spermatogenesis: Methods and Prools
details prools used in the study of spermatogenesis, clinical analytical prools, and basic techniques used in clinical andrology laboratories, such as obtaining accurate results for a sperm count, and advanced procedures, such as genome-wide genetic study tools and evaluation of nuclear proteins. Written in the successful
Methods in Molecular Biology™
series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible prools, and notes on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls.
Authoritative and easily accessible,
is unique in its breadth, and will be a useful reference for clinicians and researchers alike.