Molecular cloning of a new member of TEKTIN family, Tektin4, located to the flagella of rat spermatozoa

Tektins are composed of a family of filament‐forming proteins associated with ciliary and flagellar microtubules. A new member of the TEKTIN gene family, which was designated as rat Tektin4, was obtained by PCR technique combined with yeast two‐hybrid screening. Rat Tektin4 cDNA consists of 1,341 bp encoding a 52 kDa protein of 447 amino acids. Tektin4 protein contains a Tektin domain including a nonapeptide signature sequence (RPNVELCRD), which is a prominent feature of Tektins. Its amino acid sequence showed 29% ∼ 58% identities to that of other Tektin family proteins registered in the public databases. Tektin4 gene, which was mapped to rat chromosome 10q12, is composed of six exons and spanning 5 kb. Reverse‐transcriptional‐PCR (RT‐PCR) analysis indicated that Tektin4 was predominantly expressed in testis and its expression was upregulated during testis development. In situ hybridization analysis showed that Tektin4 mRNA was localized in round spermatids in the seminiferous tubules of the rat testis. Tektin4 protein was predominantly localized in the flagella of spermatozoa, suggesting that it might works as a flagellar component requisite for flagellar stability or sperm motility. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.