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A novel testis‐specific RAG2‐like protein, Peas: its expression in pachytene spermatocyte cytoplasm and meiotic chromatin
Author(s) -
Ohinata Yasuhide,
Sutou Shizuyo,
Mitsui Youji
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/s0014-5793(03)00036-x
Subject(s) - spermatocyte , biology , meiosis , chromatin , cytoplasm , rag2 , gene , microbiology and biotechnology , homologous recombination , genetics , in situ hybridization , recombination , gene expression
We report a novel gene Peas that constitutes an overlapping gene complex in mammalian genome. We have cloned human and mouse Peas cDNAs (h PEAS /m Peas ) and analyzed their tissue and stage‐specific expressions. Peas protein contains six repeated kelch motifs, structurally similar to RAG2, a V(D)J recombination activator, and is evolutionarily conserved among mammals, birds, insects, and nematodes. Northern, RNA in situ hybridization and immunohistochemical analyses showed that m Peas is specifically transcribed in testis, particularly in pachytene spermatocytes in which it is localized to the cytoplasm and meiotic chromatin. It is suggested that Peas may be involved in meiotic recombination process.