Glycerol kinase-like proteins cooperate with Pld6 in regulating sperm mitochondrial sheath formation and male fertility.

Spermatids undergo the final steps of maturation during spermiogenesis, a process that necessitates extensive rearrangement of organelles such as the mitochondria. Male infertility has been linked to mitochondrial disorder, for example, hypospermatogenesis and asthenozoospermia. However, the mechanisms that regulate mitochondrial dynamics during spermiogenesis remain largely unknown. We found the glycerol kinase (Gyk)-like proteins glycerol kinase-like 1 (Gykl1) and glycerol kinase 2 (Gk2) were specifically localized to the mitochondria in spermatids. Male mice deficient in either