Genesis of a novel human sequence from the protamine PRM1 gene

Abstract

The members of the male haploid expressed protamine 1 (PRM1)→protamine 2 (PRM2)→transition protein 2 (TNP2) locus exist as a single, coordinately expressed genic domain. Previous analysis has revealed that the genes within the human PRM1→PRM2→TNP2 domain are inter-related, as they share significant sequence similarity at both the nucleotide and amino acid levels. Analysis described here supports the view that a fourth candidate coding region, gene4/Prm3, was derived from PRM1 during the genesis of the PRM1→PRM2→TNP2 domain. In some species, gene4 has diverged to a great extent, which can limit its expression. Copyright (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Inc.