nanos1: a mouse nanos gene expressed in the central nervous system is dispensable for normal development.
A mouse nanos (nanos1) gene was cloned and its function was examined by generating a gene-knockout mouse. The nanos1 gene encodes an RNA-binding protein, which contains a putative zinc-finger motif that exhibits similarity with other nanos-class genes in vertebrates and invertebrates. Although nanos1 is not detected in primordial germ cells, it is observed in seminiferous tubules of mature testis. Interestingly, maternally expressed nanos1 is observed in substantial amounts in oocytes, but the amount of maternal RNA is rapidly reduced after fertilization, and the transient zygotic nanos1 expression is observed in eight-cell embryos. At 12.5 days postcoitum, nanos1 is re-expressed in the central nervous system and the expression continues in the adult brain, in which the hippocampal formation is the predominant region. The nanos1 -deficient mice develop to term without any detectable abnormality and they are fertile. No significant neural defect is observed in terms of their behavior to date.
Haraguchi
Seiki
S
Department of Microbiology, Shiga University of Medical Science, Seta, Otsu, 520-2192 Shiga, Japan.
Tsuda
Masayuki
M
Kitajima
Satoshi
S
Sasaoka
Yumiko
Y
Nomura-Kitabayashid
Aya
A
Kurokawa
Kiyoshi
K
Saga
Yumiko
Y
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism*; D003433:Crosses, Genetic; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010063:Ovum / Q000378:metabolism; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D016335:Zinc Fingers / Q000502:physiology
D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; C484506:nanos1 protein, mouse