The bone morphogenetic protein 15 gene is X-linked and expressed in oocytes.
We have taken advantage of the sequence relationships among the bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) to identify the mouse Bmp15 and human BMP15 genes. The 392-amino acid prepropeptides encoded by these BMP genes exhibit significant homology to each other, although the 70% identity observed between the 125-amino acid mature peptides is considerably lower than that seen in comparisons of other mouse and human orthologs. Both genes share a common structural organization and encode mature peptides that lack the cysteine residue normally involved in the formation of a covalent dimer. In addition, mouse Bmp15 and human BMP15 map to conserved syntenic regions on the X chromosome. We demonstrate, through a combination of Northern blot and in situ hybridization analyses, that mouse Bmp15 is expressed specifically in the oocyte beginning at the one-layer primary follicle stage and continuing through ovulation. Interestingly, BMP-15 is most closely related to and shares a coincident expression pattern with the mouse growth/differentiation factor 9 (GDF-9) gene that is essential for female fertility. Our findings will be important for defining the role of BMP-15 in follicular development.
Dube
J L
JL
Department of Tissue Growth and Repair, Genetics Institute, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02140, USA.
Wang
P
P
Elvin
J
J
Lyons
K M
KM
Celeste
A J
AJ
Matzuk
M M
MM
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D008040:Genetic Linkage; D006801:Humans; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009865:Oocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D010053:Ovary / Q000737:chemistry; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D014960:X Chromosome
D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger