ISU researchers have discovered a link between a housekeeping gene and male infertility.

The discovery was born from a study of the survival motor neuron (SMN), which is nicknamed the “housekeeping gene” because it’s needed for essential basic cellular function. Biomedical sciences professor Ravindra Singh’s laboratory discovered that SMN was one of only a few genes directly linked to male infertility.

“Our study is the first study in mammals where we can see that correlation,” Singh said.

Singh added that since most studies on infertility were done more than 30 years ago, a new discovery was important.

“Male infertility is a very big problem because it effects 5 percent of males worldwide,” Singh said.

Singh added that the number actually ranged from 5 to 10 percent depending on the study. Singh said that because science does not fully understand male infertility it cannot be cured, but that the more you know about a problem the more possible it is for a cure to be discovered.

Singh’s work with SMN is meant to help understand neurological problems such as spinal muscular atrophy. Singh said the infertility discovery was very sudden, adding that all genes have multiple functions, so a new function was discovered for SMN.

While Iowa State doesn’t have a medical college, Singh said it is still at the forefront of medical research and that the discoveries it makes are often later picked up by medical colleges and corporations.

“The fact that we are able discover these things at Iowa State proves that we are at the forefront of this kind of research, which is a global front,” Singh said.

Students are proud of the research, too. 

“I think it’s impressive that we have research like this done here,” said Josh Higginbottom, junior in mechanical engineering. “We’re an engineering school so you don’t really think about the discoveries that go on in biology and other fields here, and it’s impressive to think about.”