Cloning and Characterization of Novel Isoforms of the BOULE Gene in Bats

论文题目:

Cloning and Characterization of Novel Isoforms of the BOULE Gene in Bats

作者:

Yuan Lihong, Zuo Xueguo, He Lingjiang, Racey Paul, Levin Eran, Zhang Shuyi

年:

2010

卷:

48

页:

173-180

联系作者:

张树义

发表期刊:

BIOCHEMICAL GENETICS

原文链接:

http://www.springerlink.com/content/b3262424l15x114n/

摘要:

Spermatogenesis is a complex physiological process controlled by many genes. The BOULE gene, a new member of the Deleted in Azoospermia (DAZ) family (which consists of BOULE, DAZ, and DAZ-like DAZl), is regarded as the ancestor of the DAZ family and a key factor in controlling the meiosis of male germ cells, which can regulate the expression of the twine gene and promote progression through meiosis (Eberhart et al. 1996; Karashima et al. 2000; Maines and Wasserman 1999; Xu et al. 2001). Bats account for about 20% of mammals and, during evolution, have evolved many reproductive strategies, including sperm storage, delayed fertilization, delayed implantation, and delayed development (Nowak et al. 1994; Racey and Entwistle 2000). The strategies of sperm storage and delayed fertilization allow many bat species, especially hibernating bats, to achieve synchrony between birth peaks and food availability (Racey 1979). As little is known about the cell biology of bat spermatogenesis, in this study, we obtained BOULE gene sequences from four bat species (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, Myotis ricketti, Eonycteris spelaea, and Rousettus leschenaultii) to test the role of the BOULE gene in bat spermatogenesis. We identified at least two isoforms (named a and b) of the BOULE gene in bats. Isoform a is common to the BOULE gene of other species, whereas isoform b, which is here identified for the first time, is specific in bats. As for the difference of exons lost, the bat BOULE gene isoform b has a premature stop codon in a different position and has different lengths of coding-domain sequence (CDS). Thus isoform b of the BOULE gene in some species may have lost the functional domain. Therefore, our study first cloned the multiple transcript variants of the bat BOULE gene and identified the novel isoforms. These results may add some useful information for the study of bat spermatogenesis and other reproductive strategies of bats.