[Molecular cloning and character analysis of the mouse zinc finger protein gene Zfp474 exclusively expressed in testis and ovary]

Abstract

A novel mouse zinc finger protein gene that contains C2HC/C3H domain was first isolated by using a data-mining tool called Digital Differential Display (DDD) from the National Center for Biotechnology Information. The full-length cDNA of this transcript was deduced and further confirmed by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Total four exons of the mouse gene spaning a 29 869 bp genomic DNA sequence was mapped to chromosome 18D1. The cDNA encodes a novel protein of 347 amino acids and the protein contains four C2HC/C3H domains. Northern blot analyses revealed that Zfp474 mRNA was exclusively expressed in testis and ovary and had one transcript. We hypothesize that Zfp474 functions as a germ cell specific transcription factor that plays important roles in spermatid differentiation and oocyte development.