Wpkci, encoding an altered form of PKCI, is conserved widely on the avian W chromosome and expressed in early female embryos: implication of its role in female sex determination.
Two W chromosome-linked cDNA clones, p5fm2 and p5fm3, were obtained from a subtracted (female minus male) cDNA library prepared from a mixture of undifferentiated gonads and mesonephroi of male or female 5-d (stages 26-28) chicken embryos. These two clones were demonstrated to be derived from the mRNA encoding an altered form of PKC inhibitor/interacting protein (PKCI), and its gene was named Wpkci. The Wpkci gene reiterated approximately 40 times tandemly and located at the nonheterochromatic end of the chicken W chromosome. The W linkage and the moderate reiteration of Wpkci were conserved widely in Carinatae birds. The chicken PKCI gene, chPKCI, was shown to be a single-copy gene located near the centromere on the long arm of the Z chromosome. Deduced amino acid sequences of Wpkci and chPKCI showed approximately 65% identity. In the deduced sequence of Wpkci, the HIT motif, which is essential for PKCI function, was absent, but the alpha-helix region, which was conserved among the PKCI family, and a unique Leu- and Arg-rich region, were present. Transcripts from both Wpkci and chPKCI genes were present at significantly higher levels in 3- to 6-d (stages 20-29) embryos. These transcripts were detected in several embryonic tissues, including undifferentiated left and right gonads. When the green fluorescent protein-fused form of Wpkci was expressed in male chicken embryonic fibroblast, it was located almost exclusively in the nucleus. A model is presented suggesting that Wpkci may be involved in triggering the differentiation of ovary by interfering with PKCI function or by exhibiting its unique function in the nuclei of early female embryos.
Hori
T
T
Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University, Sendai 981-8555 Japan.
Asakawa
S
S
Itoh
Y
Y
Shimizu
N
N
Mizuno
S
S
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002642:Chick Embryo; D002645:Chickens / Q000235:genetics*; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D003370:Coturnix / Q000235:genetics; D004372:Ducks / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D006066:Gonads / Q000196:embryology; D006801:Humans; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D007621:Karyotyping; D007668:Kidney / Q000196:embryology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D011493:Protein Kinase C / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D019849:Sex Determination Processes; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
C063306:HINT1 protein, human; C489275:Hint1 protein, mouse; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D011493:Protein Kinase C