Abstract: Objective To study the relationship between the gr/gr-DAZ1/DAZ2 gene deletion and male infertility in Chinese population. Methods Distribution of gr/gr-DAZ1/DAZ2 gene deletion was investigated in 364 infertile men and 287 fertile controls using polymerase chain reaction（PCR） and fragment length polymorphism analysis (RFLP). Results gr/gr-DAZ1/DAZ2 gene deletion was detected in both infertile men and controls, but the incidence of gr/gr-DAZ1/DAZ2 gene deletion in infertile men was significantly higher than that in controls (%9.3 vs. 2.8%, P<0.001). Conclusion Deletion of gr/gr-DAZ1/DAZ2 gene is not a direct etiology but a risk factor of male infertility, suggesting that it is not essential to detect this deletion during gene diagnosis for male infertility in Chinese.

Key words: DAZ gene, Deletion, Male infertility