University of Kent research helps uncover role of Y chromosome gene in male fertility

A new collaborative study has shed light on the function of ZFY, a gene on the Y chromosome long known to be essential for male fertility but whose precise role has remained unclear.

The research brought together teams in Hawaii and at the University of Kent to tackle this longstanding question using complementary approaches. In Hawaii, scientists created mouse models lacking one or both copies of the Zfy gene and examined how this affected gene activity in developing germ cells. In parallel, Kent researchers – led by SoCoBio PhD student Isabella Garcia in Dr Peter Ellis’ group – introduced the human ZFY gene into human cells to observe its effects.

The combined results reveal that ZFY is not a narrowly targeted regulator, but a broad-acting transcription factor with widespread influence across the genome. The gene appears to play key roles in shaping chromatin structure and controlling cell death pathways, providing new insight into why the absence of ZFY leads to abnormal sperm development and infertility in male mice.

These findings mark an important step forward in understanding how the Y chromosome contributes to fertility, and highlight how carefully designed model systems can illuminate aspects of human biology that are otherwise difficult to study directly.

Read the publication in full here: DOI: 10.1038/s41418-025-01569-6