CELE_ZK354.4, ZK354.4

msp-113 encodes a protein that belongs to a family of proteins called the Major Sperm Proteins (MSPs) that is conserved in nematodes; msp-113 has a C. briggsae homolog as detected by the Wobble Aware Bulk Aligner (WABA); the MSP family consists of closely related, small, basic proteins that make up 15% of sperm protein; this multigene family consists of over fifty genes, including many pseudogenes; the msp-113 promoter region contains two conserved cis elements that are recognition sites for elt-1, a gene that encodes a homolog of the vertebrate GATA transcription factor family; this suggests that a MSP protein is a potential target for ELT-1 in the germ-line; MSPs are involved in both extracellular signaling and cytoskeletal functions during reproduction-MSP antagonizes Eph/ephrin signaling, in part, by binding VAB-1 Eph receptor tyrosine kinase on oocytes and sheath cells to promote oocyte maturation and MAPK activation; MSPs assemble into fibrous networks that drive movement of the C. elegans sperm; msp genes are expressed only in late primary spermatocytes.

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