A zinc finger protein-encoding gene expressed in the post-meiotic phase of spermatogenesis

Spermatogenesis is the complex series of physiological and morphological changes that occur when spermatogonial stem cells differentiate into mature spermatozoa. Some of these changes are likely to be regulated at the level of transcription. To approach this problem, we have cloned a cDNA from mouse testis, encoding a protein (Zfp-29) with 14 copies of the zinc finger (Zf) motif commonly found in transcriptional regulatory proteins. The expression of this gene, Zfp-29, is restricted to the testis in adult mice, but also occurs during embryonic development. Within the testis, Zfp-29 mRNA is enriched in round spermatids, the earliest post-meiotic cells. Thus, the putative Zfp-29-encoded protein may have a role in regulating the class of genes that are expressed in post-meiotic germ cells.