High impact information on Zfy1

• Both Zfy-1 and Zfy-2 are transcribed in the adult testis [1].
• The Y chromosomes of the subspecies Mus musculus musculus and M. m. domesticus were distinguishable by a Zfy-1 restriction fragment polymorphism, which can be used to study their differing interactions with autosomal sex-determining genes [2].
• The data suggesting that Zfy-1 expression is present in fetal testes support the hypothesis that this gene plays a role in testis differentiation [3].
• The candidate testis-determining Y genes of the mouse Zfy-1 and Zfy-2, encode proteins containing an acidic amino terminus and a carboxyl terminus composed of 13 zinc fingers [3].
• In adults, the data suggest that Zfy-1 and Zfy-2 transcription is linked to spermatogenesis, that transcription increases with the initiation of meiosis, and that high levels of these mRNAs are found in postmeiotic round spermatid cells [3].

Biological context of Zfy1

• We show that Zfy1 has 11 exons distributed across at least 56 kb, and Zfy2 has a minimum of 9 exons distributed across at least 52 kb [4].
• Molecular genetic analysis showed the mutation to be caused by fusion of two duplicated genes, Zfy1 and Zfy2, deleting the intervening DNA [5].
• Zfy2/1 fusion gene fails to replicate Zfy1 expression pattern in fetal gonads [6].
• Zfx, Zfy-1, and Zfy-2 contain highly acidic amino-terminal domains and carboxy-terminal regions containing 13 zinc fingers [7].
• Here we show that Sxrb differs from Sxra as the result of unequal crossing-over between Zfy-1 and Zfy-2 [8].

Anatomical context of Zfy1

• The fact that these genes show a normal structure and expression pattern in mice with a Y chromosome known to carry a mutation in Tdy and that mutant embryos develop into females despite Zfy-1 expression, strongly supports other recent evidence that Zfy genes are not directly involved in primary testis determination [9].
• In the adult, the Zfy-1/lacZ transgene is expressed abundantly in developing germ cells [10].

Enzymatic interactions of Zfy1

• Sxrb, a derivative of Sxra, was previously thought to retain Zfy-1 but to be deleted for Zfy-2 [8].

Other interactions of Zfy1

• In order to identify any further gene(s) that may underlie Spy, systematic exon trapping was performed on an extended contig, anchored on Zfy1, which covers 750 kb of the Delta Sxrb interval [11].
• In this paper we report the construction of YAC transgenic mice containing different regions of the delta Sxr(b) interval including Zfy1, Ube1y, Smcy, and Eif2s3 [12].
• An analysis of cDNA clones demonstrated that Zfx encodes a 799-amino-acid protein that is 70% identical to the mouse Zfy-1 and Zfy-2 proteins [7].

References