Cloning and characterization of chicken SPATA4 gene and analysis of its specific expression.

The spermatogenesis associated 4 gene (SPATA4, previously named TSARG2) was first cloned from a mouse testis cDNA library and was reported to be a candidate apoptosis-related gene in male germ cells. In this study, we cloned and characterized the SPATA4 gene from chicken (Gallus gallus). Bioinformatics analysis shows that the chicken SPATA4 gene is located on chromosome 4, is made up of six exons, and contains an 860 bp open reading frame encoding a putative protein of 250 amino acids. Further analysis of the SPATA4 gene sequence indicates that it is highly conserved between avian and mammalian species. Multi-tissue RT-PCR results indicate that the chicken SPATA4 gene is specifically expressed in the testis. Moreover, according to multi-time RT-PCR results, the expression of chicken SPATA4 occurs in a development stage-dependent pattern, and is gradually upregulated during the developmental process in chicken testis. All of these results suggest that SPATA4 may play an important role in the chicken spermatogenesis process.