title: Molecular characterization of the equine testis-specific protein 1 (TPX1) and acidic epididymal glycoprotein 2 (AEG2) genes encoding members of the cysteine-rich secretory protein (CRISP) family.
abstract: The cysteine-rich secretory protein (CRISP) family consists of three members called acidic epididymal glycoprotein 1 (AEG1), AEG2, and testis-specific protein 1 (TPX1), which share 16 conserved cysteine residues at their C-termini. The CRISP proteins are primarily expressed in different sections of the male genital tract and are thought to mediate cell-cell interactions of male germ cells with other cells during sperm maturation or during fertilization. Therefore, their genes are of interest as candidate genes for inherited male fertility dysfunctions and as putative quantitative trait loci for male fertility traits. In this report, the cloning and DNA sequence of 137 kb of horse genomic DNA from equine chromosome 20q22 containing the closely linked equine TPX1 and AEG2 genes are described. The equine TPX1 gene consists of ten exons spanning 18 kb while the AEG2 gene consists of eight exons that are spread over 24 kb. The expression of these two genes was investigated in several tissues by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis and Western blotting. Comparative genome analysis between horse, human, and mouse indicates that all three CRISP genes are clustered on one chromosomal location, which shows conserved synteny between these species.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Animal Breeding and Genetics, School of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Bünteweg 17p, 30559 Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giese
authors.forename: Rony
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jude
authors.forename: Heidi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kuiper
authors.forename: Terje
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Raudsepp
authors.forename: Francois
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Piumi
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schambony
authors.forename: Gérard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Guérin
authors.forename: Bhanu P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Chowdhary
authors.forename: Ottmar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Distl
authors.forename: Edda
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Töpfer-Petersen
authors.forename: Tosso
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Leeb
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D005091:Exons; D015870:Gene Expression; D005796:Genes / Q000235:genetics; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000235:genetics*; D006736:Horses / Q000235:genetics*; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D007438:Introns; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012471:Salivary Proteins and Peptides / Q000235:genetics*; D029589:Seminal Plasma Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: C489926:CRISP3 protein, human; C489927:Crisp3 protein, mouse; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D006023:Glycoproteins; D012471:Salivary Proteins and Peptides; D029589:Seminal Plasma Proteins; D004247:DNA