A mouse gene encoding a novel member of the WD family of proteins is highly conserved and predominantly expressed in the testis (Wdr13).
Wdr13, a novel member of the WD family of proteins and the mouse homolog of WDR13 is localized to the locus XA1.1 and is predominantly expressed in the testis. The expression begins at the early stages of gonadal development and is maintained throughout the adult life with a predominant expression in the germ cells of adult testis. RNA in situ hybridization on the testis and brain sections indicated a cytoplasmic expression of the transcript. The alternatively spliced transcripts of the gene are generated by different methods and showed a differential pattern of expression, suggesting functional diversity. The expression of the gene in the unfertilized egg and in the neural stem cells indicated the functional significance of the gene from the early stages of development. The nuclear localization of the mouse WDR13 protein suggested a regulatory function. Evolutionary analysis of the gene indicated an extensive functional conservation across diverse species. Comparison of the genomic organization of the different homologs revealed a varied organization in the invertebrate homolog and the retention of the functionally significant introns in the same.
Suresh
Amritha
A
Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Uppal Road, Hyderabad, India.
Shah
Vanya
V
Rani
Deepa Selvi
DS
Singh
Bhupendra N
BN
Prasad
Gogineni Uma
GU
Subramanian
Subbaya
S
Kumar
Satish
S
Singh
Lalji
L
D017398:Alternative Splicing / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D019295:Computational Biology; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000378:metabolism; D017931:DNA Primers; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D015870:Gene Expression; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D010802:Phylogeny; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013737:Testis / Q000378:metabolism*
D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D017931:DNA Primers; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; C508318:WDR13 protein, mouse