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A mouse zinc finger gene which is transiently expressed during spermatogenesis.
Author(s) -
Cunliffe V.,
Koopman P.,
McLaren A.,
Trowsdale J.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
the embo journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 7.484
H-Index - 392
eISSN - 1460-2075
pISSN - 0261-4189
DOI - 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1990.tb08096.x
Subject(s) - biology , zinc finger , gene , library science , genetics , computer science , transcription factor
Zinc finger proteins are polypeptides with sequence‐specific, nucleic acid‐binding properties. Substantial evidence has established them as a class of trans‐acting molecules with regulatory roles in cellular growth and differentiation. We have screened an 11.5 day post coitum urogenital ridge cDNA library with an oligonucleotide encoding a sequence conserved between a variety of zinc finger proteins. By cDNA cloning and sequencing we show that a novel mouse gene, Zfp‐35, encodes a protein with a block of 18 zinc finger domains and an N‐terminal region rich in acidic residues. The 2.4 kb mRNA encoding this polypeptide is selectively expressed in adult testis, by comparison with other organs. We have analysed Zfp‐35 expression in whole testes of sex‐reversed mice, whole testes of prepuberal XY animals, germ cell fractions from XY adult testes and by in situ hybridization to sections from adult XY testes. Our studies show that a considerable increase in expression is restricted to spermatocytes at the pachytene stage of meiotic prophase. These experiments suggest that Zfp‐35 may act to control gene activity during this particular stage of spermatogenesis.