Y chromosome microdeletions in Brazilian fertility clinic patients

Microdeletions in Yq are associated with defects in spermatogenesis, while those in the AZF region are considered criti- cal for germ cell development. We examined microdeletions in the Y chromosomes of patients attended at the Laboratory of Human Repro- duction of the Clinical Hospital of the Federal University of Goias as part of a screening of patients who plan to undergo assisted reproduc- tion. Analysis was made of the AZF region of the Y chromosome in men who had altered spermograms to detect possible microdeletions in Yq. Twenty-three patients with azoospermia and 40 with severe oligo- zoospermia were analyzed by PCR for the detection of six sequence- tagged sites: sY84 and sY86 for AZFa, sY127 and sY134 for AZFb, and sY254 and sY255 for AZFc. Microdeletions were detected in 28