gmeb-4, CELE_C25G4.4, tag-347, C25G4.4

spe-44 encodes a SAND (for Sp100, Aire, NucP41/75, DEAF-1) domain-containing protein that is one of four C. elegans proteins related to the mammalian glucocorticoid modulatory element-binding proteins GMEB-1 and GMEB-2; SPE-44 is one of the earliest markers of sperm fate and its activity is essential for regulation of sperm-specific genes during spermatogenesis; microarray analyses indicate the SPE-44 is required for expression of a number of sperm-specific genes, including those that encode the Major Sperm Proteins (MSPs), members of the small sperm-specific protein family, other SPE proteins such as SPE-7, and the ELT-1 GATA transcription factor; when expressed in yeast, SPE-44 can directly activate transcription of a lacZ reporter gene containing the spe-7 promoter region; spe-44 expression coincides with commitment to the sperm fate at the L3 larval stage, and persists throughout spermatogenesis in hermaphrodites and males; SPE-44 protein is first detected in the early meiotic zone, co-localizes with meiotic autosomes in the pachytene region, and becomes non-chromosomal before disappearing in karyosome stage nuclei; spe-44 expression is controlled by terminal regulators of the germline sex determination pathway, such as fem-1, fem-3, and fog-1.

47754

6239