Bromodomain testis-specific protein is expressed in mouse oocyte and evolves faster than its ubiquitously expressed paralogs BRD2, -3, and -4

Genomics. 2007 Feb;89(2):215-23. doi: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2006.09.002. Epub 2006 Oct 16.

Abstract

By using in silico methods in a previous study, we identified 100 oocyte-specific genes and 150 genes, enriched in the mouse oocyte. Interestingly, approximately half of the oocyte-specific genes tend to cluster on mouse chromosomes as if they have recently duplicated during evolution. In this study, we focused our attention on mouse BRDT, which belongs to a family of four structurally related proteins characterized by two N-terminal bromodomains and one C-terminal extraterminal domain (ET domain), defining the BET family. In mammals, BRD2, -3, and -4 are ubiquitously expressed, whereas BRDT expression was shown to be restricted to the testis. We were interested to know whether there was a correlation between the evolutionary rate and the specificity of expression of these four paralogous genes. First, we show by RT-PCR and in situ hybridization that BRDT is also expressed in mouse oocyte. Moreover, phylogenetic analyses show that the BRDT germ cell-specific orthology group clearly evolves faster than its ubiquitously expressed paralogs BRD2, BRD3, and BRD4. This suggests that there is a relationship between the evolution of these four groups of orthology and their tissue specificity of expression.

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Base Sequence
  • Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone
  • Evolution, Molecular
  • Female
  • Gene Expression
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • In Situ Hybridization
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Nuclear Proteins / genetics*
  • Oncogene Proteins, Fusion / genetics*
  • Oocytes / metabolism*
  • Phylogeny
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / genetics*
  • RNA, Messenger / genetics
  • RNA, Messenger / metabolism
  • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Testis / metabolism*
  • Tissue Distribution
  • Transcription Factors

Substances

  • BRDT protein, mouse
  • Brd2 protein, mouse
  • Brd3 protein, mouse
  • Brd4 protein, mouse
  • Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone
  • Nuclear Proteins
  • Oncogene Proteins, Fusion
  • RNA, Messenger
  • Transcription Factors
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases