| First Author | Virbasius JV | Year | 1988 |
| Journal | J Biol Chem | Volume | 263 |
| Issue | 14 | Pages | 6791-6 |
| PubMed ID | 2834389 | Mgi Jnum | J:9150 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:57613 | Doi | 10.1016/s0021-9258(18)68712-5 |
| Citation | Virbasius JV, et al. (1988) Structure and expression of rodent genes encoding the testis-specific cytochrome c. Differences in gene structure and evolution between somatic and testicular variants. J Biol Chem 263(14):6791-6 |
| abstractText | Mammalian testis contains two forms of cytochrome c, one identical to the form found in somatic tissues and a second that is expressed in a stage-specific manner during spermatogenic differentiation. We have isolated both rat and mouse cDNA clones and the rat gene encoding the testis-specific cytochrome c and determined their DNA sequences. The testicular variant displays a number of notable differences with its somatic counterpart. 1) In contrast to the multipseudogene family derived from mammalian somatic cytochrome c genes, the testis gene is single-copy in genomic DNA with no detectable pseudogenes. 2) The rat testis gene is approximately 7 kilobases (kb) long with three introns totaling nearly 6.5 kb whereas the two introns dividing the 2.1-kb somatic gene occupy only 0.9 kb. Introns differ in position as well as size. 3) The testicular variant has a longer 5'-untranslated leader (230 versus 70 base pairs for the somatic gene) with an upstream open reading frame of 129 base pairs beginning with an AUG in a favorable translational context. 4) A single polyadenylation site in the testicular mRNA (approximately 900 nucleotides) contrasts with the three functionally equivalent sites observed in rat somatic messages. 5) Finally, rat and mouse testis cytochromes c differ at 4 amino acid residues as opposed to the complete sequence identity found in the somatic proteins suggesting a shorter unit evolutionary period for these molecules. These observations are consistent with a duplication of an ancestral cytochrome c gene leading to the emergence of novel structural features and regulatory properties likely associated with the striking tissue specificity of the testicular cytochrome c. |
