EFFICIENCY OF MICROSORT FLOW-CYTOMETRY FOR PRODUCING SPERM POPULATIONS ENRICHED IN X-CHROMOSOME OR Y-CHROMOSOME HAPLOTYPES - A BLIND TRIAL ASSESSED BY DOUBLE AND TRIPLE COLOR FLUORESCENT IN-SITU HYBRIDIZATION

Using fluorescent in-situ hybridization (FISH) we have evaluated, on a blind basis, the efficiency of flow cytometry to separate human X-and Y-chromosome bearing spermatozoa; Our data demonstrate that human spe rmatozoa can be sorted to a purity of 80-90% for X spermatozoa and of 60-70% for Y spermatozoa. Our results using triple FISH fully agree wi th the sorting treatment used in each case and corroborate the efficie ncy of the flow sorting technique for sperm sex selection. In these li mited samples (200-500 sperm/donor), the frequencies of disomic or dip loid spermatozoa were not increased when comparing the sorted samples with unselected samples or with our control series.